Mario Draghi it takes the stage during the European Council and shows that it is very clear that it is possible to take the leadership of this European Union which is dangerously lacking in personalities capable of leading it.
The issue is the burning one of LGBT rights. A theme that has also become central in the Italian debate after the intervention of the Vatican on the critical issues of the Zan Bill by virtue of the Concordat between Italy and the Holy See. The Italian premier addressed his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban during the discussion on the law passed in Hungary on visible homosexual content for minors and in general on sexual education for minors. Draghi defended the role of the European Union by accusing the Hungarian prime minister of forgetting that it is the Commission that must monitor the application of the European treaties, which Budapest itself spontaneously decided to respect. The Prime Minister cited in particular art. 2 of the Treaty: “See that this treaty, also signed by Hungary, is the same one that appoints the Guardian Commission of the treaty itself“said Draghi,”it is up to the Commission to determine whether Hungary violates the treaty or not“.
These days, Hungary has been under siege for its legislation on sex education and LGBT content. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, attacked the Hungarian premier frontally speaking of a “shame”. And many leaders have followed suit, hitting the Hungarian government hard. Orban responded to the assault of his European colleagues accusing them of not having read the provision: “It is always best to read first and then react. I was a defender of freedom in the communist regime where homosexuality was punished. I defend the rights of homosexual children but this law does not concern this, it is about all kinds of sexual interference, it is about the rights of children and parents, it decides that the way to educate children belongs only to the parents“. Brussels, however, did not bat an eye and the European Commission sent a letter to the Hungarian Minister of Justice, Judit Varga, saying that the new law passed by Budapest violates EU rules. Varga’s response was clear: “Hungary does not want to leave the European Union. On the contrary, we want to save it from the hypocrites“.
It clash this continued until the meeting between the leaders, when Draghi sent a signal on both the European and the domestic front. The theme should not have been at the center of the debate, since the main nodes were i migrants, relations with Turkey and Russia and cybersecurity. But the question now seems to have become one of the most important issues in the discussion within Europe, so much so that it has completely invaded the first day of the summit.
Draghi has never hidden his desire to compact the EU and to secure respect for the treaties. And with the weakness of Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, the signal launched by the Prime Minister is that he wants to represent the interests of the European Union and a possible guide. Waiting, however, for answers to also arrive on issues that are central to the security of Italy and all of Europe: especially on the Mediterranean front. Because that’s what Palazzo Chigi plays on more difficult game and it will be necessary to have as many allies on your side as possible.