The current Government majority seems to have given, and intends to continue to give, a preponderant weight to foreign policy issues. There is no doubt that it is certainly necessary, even before it is appropriate, to take into consideration the level of supra-national relationships and contexts. And if on this side of national borders the health emergency, inflation and high spending appear as circumstances to be resolved with the utmost speed, beyond those same borders, however, the issues with respect to the which the country should propose as a "pilot" for useful initiatives for real change.

To put it differently and more clearly, the greater or lesser capacity of the current Government to influence foreign policy issues could be reflected to varying degrees, conditioning it, on internal politics, and therefore on the potential for resolution with respect to its needs. One gets the impression that, up to the present time, reasoning and decisions have been made in terms of emergencies, almost as if wanting to put a temporary barrier to problems which, even if one were to concede everything, would rather seem to come back to general attention as structural issues (inflation and dear life for example) which, if not addressed collectively and in supranational contexts, will recur in a cyclical and constant manner over time and space.

If we only consider the short period for example, i.e. the one immediately preceding the yellow-green government and the one immediately following it, up to now, a fluctuating trend can be seen which, from markedly pro-European positions, has then oscillated in the renewed appreciation towards the 'American ally not without moving towards a gradual approach even to China. It is useless to deny that, in some way, the deterioration of the relationship based on the bipolarity of international dynamics and the consequent balance of power has contributed to influencing Italian foreign policy issues to perhaps make it less incisive and in some way conditioned. To this day, given the war scenarios, it will probably be those states that will be able to take on a leadership role in the promotion of peace operations and the art of diplomacy. To remain on a European level, the Union has probably suffered, and not a little, from the absence of Angela Merkel as an apical reference figure who, over the years, beyond the appreciation for the policies promoted by her, has been able to impose herself on the decision-making level, also giving a significant imprinting to one's country which, to this day, still reflects its effects.

International relations, at any level, are particularly important for foreign policy, and certainly not only for Italian policy given and considering the sudden changes in world reality: it is enough just to consider the impact that the choice of the future, as immediate as possible, President of the United States of America may reverberate beyond the borders of that Federal State. Both Trump and Biden have different interests and policies in every area of life, so the prevalence of one or the other cannot help but influence Italian choices on a general geopolitical level. It should not be excluded that a potential turnover between the two contenders for the White House could lead to a reversal of direction on the most thorny issues of Italian foreign policy, especially in contexts characterized by conflicts and war scenarios.

Let's be clear: Italy is the founding country of the current European Union; has constantly supported and promoted a path of integration; has in a linear and convinced manner considered Europe as the "Prince" political subject in supporting and accompanying, directing, the action of the States, without however ever appropriating their competences and functions. Probably, in the current global geopolitical context, the current government majority should have as its primary objective the preventive identification of the cornerstones of a renewed and original Italian foreign policy which, in truth, does not seem to be able to ignore a strong diplomatic system suitable for also and above all affect the Mediterranean.

The issue of migration, for example, has become a central theme of government action, but to date it is not discussed except by virtue of a "Mattei Plan" whose effects, however, do not seem to be appreciated. Instead, and indeed, it should finally set itself as the central objective not only of Italy, which represents the most important point of contact between Europe and the Mediterranean, but also of the European institutions, in order to develop a common and convinced policy of immigration, such that it can ensure stability and growth. The time seems to have come to modernize the cornerstones of Italian foreign policy, making them suitable for the new global dynamics and the new and unprecedented balance of power on an internal and international level. And certainly, the next American Presidential elections as well as the most imminent European elections will indicate, with outcomes that are anything but obvious, the future guidelines of Europe and the world as a whole, impacting in various ways on the balance of power between states. Italy will have to carve out, in the context of the Mediterranean, a leading role, which can be said to be competitive compared to that of France and Germany.

Giuseppina Di Salvatore

(Lawyer – Nuoro)

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