Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini accused French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday of endangering Europe by refusing to rule out sending Western forces to Ukraine. Salvini's statements, as the leader of the far-right League party, part of the coalition government led by Giorgia Meloni, were made during a gathering in Rome of European right-wing and nationalist leaders to rally support ahead of the European Parliament elections scheduled for June.
During the event organized by the Identity and Democracy Group in the European Parliament, Salvini considered Macron’s proposal last month to send troops to Ukraine as "extremely dangerous and excessive." He emphasized in his speech, which greatly highlighted conservative family values: "I believe that President Macron, with his words, poses a threat to our country and our continent."
He added: "The problem does not lie with mothers and fathers but with warmongers like Macron who talk about war as if there is no problem at the moment." He continued: "I do not want to leave our children a continent preparing for a third world war."
Also speaking were André Ventura, the leader of the far-right Chega party in Portugal, which made significant gains in the general elections held in March, as well as Harald Vilimsky, leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a former candidate for the U.S. presidency. Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right in France, did not attend in person and only sent a video message.
Salvini, who also serves as Italy's Minister of Transport, is a hardline populist whose statements often provoke sharp criticism. Earlier this month, he commented on the results of the Russian presidential elections by saying: "When people vote, they are always right." After the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny last month, he stated that determining the cause of death "is up to Russian doctors and judges." Salvini has previously expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Macron's statements last month, in which he declined to rule out sending troops to Ukraine, prompted a strong response from Berlin and other European partners.
