More Russian Federation Interference in American and Italian Politics

United States: There was a federal indictment of a Russian who worked with an American socialist organization to sow divisions and advance Russian propaganda. Interference by ex-Soviet intelligence officer Vladimir Putin, the Russian tyrant, through left-wing international movements is not surprising, but what has changed is his appeal to right-wing anti-migrant “nationalists” and Islamophobic Christians. There were additional U.S. sanctions against Russians for similar interference in American politics since 2014, including a multi-million dollar operation. Russian interference in American politics was “sweeping and systematic,” according to Republican Special Counsel Robert Mueller and confirmed unanimously by the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee. Putin was successful in winning Donald Trump both the Republican presidential nomination and the presidential election and in influencing Trump’s policies. Russia backed Trump’s releection in 2020 while denying or minimizing its 2016 interference or trying to blame the Democrats or Ukraine. Italy: The Trumpist anti-migrant League party of Italy has had a history of Russian influence, like other pro-Putin European rightwing parties. A leading party figure was caught on tape a few years ago accepting a Russian offer of energy credits to fund the party, whose leader openly admired Putin. The League leader refused to answer questions about it. In May, the League secretly accepted payment from the Russian embassy in Italy for a trip to Russia to discuss the Russian aggression in Ukraine, which it did not inform its fellow governing coalition partners about. Although the League opposed Russian’s invasion, it claimed it was attempting to negotiate “peace” and opposed sending more arms to Ukraine, but it dropped the plans for the trip after the report about it was published. Now there have been press reports that a League attorney met with the Russian embassy and discussed making the national unity government fall by withholding support for a vote of confidence in the popular technocratic Prime Minister, thus precipitating his resignation and the President’s call for early elections, as explained in my last post. Because the League is part of a right-wing bloc that was favored in the polls to win the elections, it figured it would be able to take power and govern without the anti-populists and the center-left, but causing the government crisis during a critical time is a risky strategy that could end up backfiring.

The Fall of the Italian National Unity Government

Italy’s national unity government, led by a non-partisan technocrat and joined by nearly every major party, fell the week before last, after nearly a year and a half in power. The leading anti-establishment populists had declined to back a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister the week before. The Premier won the vote, but because he had said he would only govern with a broad unity government that included the populists, he offered his resignation. The President did not accept it and ordered him to address Parliament to see if he could retain his majority. The Prime Minister did, citing an unprecedented public appeal for his 17-month technocratic unity government. But the populists, together with the anti-migrant right-wing League party and the center-right Forza Italian party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi abstained from the required confidence vote because the two allies on the right refused to continue to govern with the populists. Although the confidence resolution passed, the abstentions showed a lack of support for the unity government and led to the Prime Minister’s resignation and its acceptance by the President, who called for early elections by late September. The term would have ended next year. The unity government was formed after the fall of an executive led by the populists and the main center-left party. The government crisis comes at a sensitive time during the pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian War, inflation and ahead of the budget deadline. The Prime Minister will stay in power as a caretaker, but without the authority to enact the full agenda of reforms. The populists, who had been the largest party in Parliament, had fared poorly in recent municipal elections and the Foreign Minister, who had led their party, split to form a new party over his erstwhile party’s opposition to arm sales to Ukraine, which the League also opposed. The Trumpist League leader, although opposed to the Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine, had been an admirer of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer. Forza Italia, which had heretofore been a responsible party, suffered several high-profile defections because of its decision to side with the ultra-nationalist League and undermine the government that had been successfully leading Italy through the pandemic, the obtaining of European Union pandemic relief funds and the enactment of critical reforms. The conservative party has been staunchly pro-European, in favor of the Atlantic alliance with the United States and against the Russian aggression, despite Berlusconi’s personal friendship with Putin. Press reports suggest the League worked with the Russians, with whom they have been in contact, to make the government fall, for which other parties are calling for an investigation. Forza Italia and the League are in a coalition with a right-wing party that is the only major party in opposition, along with some smaller centrist parties. The coalition leads the polls, but causing the fall of the popular national unity government at a critical time could be a costly strategy.

Foreign Digest: Tunisia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia

Tunisia: Tunisia held referendum a week ago on a new constitution proposed by the President, who had seized autocratic power last year, citing failures in the 2014 Constitution that had established the North African Arab State as a free parliamentary republic, and the danger posed by the leading Islamist party. I had posted about Tunisia’s development since the Arab Spring movement for liberty and representative government started there. The President had named a new Prime Minister a few months ago and promised elections and then named a commission to draft a new constitution. The turnout for the referendum was low, however, as the public was skeptical of the head of state’s intent and the details of the draft. Elections are nevertheless expected in months for the new Tunisian Parliament. Sudan: There have been protests for months against the military regime that took power after the coup earlier this year. The protestors are demanding a return to the civilian rule of the transitional government that was formed after the overthrow of a longtime Islamist tyrant in 2019, as I have been posting about. That government was leading the transition to liberty and representative government. Ethiopia and Somalia: Ethiopia repelled attacks by the Somali affiliate of al-Qaeda, al-Shabab. Ethiopia is part of an African mission against Islamist terrorists in the Horn of Africa. It had formerly led a major force in Somalia. As I had recently posted, the United States conducts an anti-terrorism mission in support of the Somali Government as part of the War on Terrorism that began after al-Qaeda terrorists conducted the deadliest attacks in history on September 11, 2001 on America.

Independence Day: Celebrate Independence and Freedom and Be Inspired to Defend Them

As American celebrates its Independence Day, we Americans should celebrate the freedoms and representative republican government we enjoy and be grateful to those who have defended and are currently defending our independence and liberty in every way. The Continental Congress of thirteen of the British colonies in America approved a resolution on July 2, 1776 of independence from the United Kingdom. The Declaration of Independence, which holds that all men are equal and endowed with the rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, was approved on July 4, which is the day that has come to be annually celebrated. This year, there are multiple threats to independence, equality, liberty and representative government. International Threats: Aggression: Independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity are under threat by the Russian Federation aggression against Ukraine. The expansion of Russia’s 2014 invasion of the former Soviet Republic is the latest attempt by Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer, to re-establish the Soviet Union. Independence is based on the principal of self-determination, a to which threat anywhere is a threat everywhere. Americans should appreciate that foreigners helped America win its War of Independence and oppose aggression. Foreign Interference in Elections: Russia is among the hostile foreign States that continue to interfere in American elections. As foreigners influence the choice of American leaders, this influence decreases U.S. independence. Domestic Threats: Threats from the Left: Misinterpreting the Constitution: Liberals believe in interpreting the constitution or laws differently from what was intended and approved through the representative process, which would make the law personal instead of universal, and thus subject to the whim of the courts, thereby undermining individual liberty. Courts would thus be unaccountable legislatures usurping elected legislatures, instead of tribunals to interpret the intent of the law. Undermining Representative Government: There is especially on the left a trend toward democracy, as opposed to representative government. Democracy is the direct rule of the people, instead of through a legislature of elected representatives, which, on a large-scale is impractical and leads to a lack of deliberation. It thus risks populism, demagoguery, and the violation of the liberty of any minority of citizens or residents. Threats from the Far Right: Undermining Confidence in Elections: While Trumpists continue to deny, minimize or accept interference in elections by hostile foreign states, particularly the Russian Federation’s sweeping and systematic overt and covert support of Donald Trump in both the Republican primaries and the General Elections of 2016 and 2020, at the same time Trumpists undermine the public’s confidence in elections based on false conspiracy theories, which encourages threats to election officials. These false beliefs distract from the focus on real examples of election fraud, including foreign interference. Authoritarianism: There has been a growing acceptance by Trumpists of authoritarianism that undermines the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, the separation powers, etc. Nationalism: Among the various beliefs of Nationalists are that freedoms and rights are only for citizens or that the United States of America was not based on universal ideas, but on certain cultures or religions. Neither the U.S., nor any of the several States, are “nations (people related by birth),” but free representative republics with diverse populations. The American Creed, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, states that it is self-evident that liberty is the birthright of every human being, not only of citizens, as all are equal. The Founding Fathers believed America should be a place of refuge for those fleeing tyranny and an example to other States to follow. America benefits from refugees’ greater appreciation of freedom. Threats from both Left and Far Right: Hostility to State Sovereignty: The Thirteen Original States declared their independence in 1776, later joining a Union under the Constitution, in which they created a new sovereign entity, the United States of America for certain matters, but retained much of their domestic sovereignty, as the States remain both independent and in union. The Left generally opposes State sovereignty on domestic matters while the Far Right particularly seeks to force States to abide only by federal border policies, thus abandoning the longstanding state sovereignty over this matter and state domestic interests. The centralization of power, instead of the diffusion of power between sovereigns, risks tyranny. Violence: Public discourse and voting are appropriate and effective means in a free representative republic, not violence, which is unnecessary and unacceptable. I have posted about several of these threats and intend to expound on others. I call upon my fellow Americans to reflect on the American Revolution and to renew their spirit of independence, equality and liberty. While we Americans are right to celebrate what we have retained of the legacy of the Founders for 246 years, we ought to be inspired to defend what is under assault. May God Bless America.

Foreign Digest: NATO and the European Union Invite New Members

NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a 27-member mutual defensive pact led by the United States, has approved the membership applications for Finland and Sweden. The two Nordic and Baltic States abandoned their longstanding neutrality, although they had long been NATO partners, in the face of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer who is trying to recreate the Soviet Union, used Ukraine’s application to join the alliance, which is unlikely to succeed, as a pretext to expand its invasion beyond the territory it seized or was gained by Russian-backed separatists in 2014. Finland’s and Sweden’s memberships will have to be approved by each member’s government, as expected. Other Eastern European States have been seeking NATO membership because of Russian hostility. European Union: The European Union has accepted the membership candidacy for Ukraine and Moldova while a block by Bulgaria on North Macedonia’s membership has been lifted. The application process could take years, but the acceptance was a sign of the EU’s support for former Soviet Republics Ukraine and Moldova in response to Russian imperialism. In addition to invading Ukraine, Russia stations troops in a breakaway part of Moldova against the will of the Moldovan Government. Similarly to NATO, a number of Eastern European States are seeking EU membership for trade and security instead of being forced to live under Russian or Russian allied domination. Thus, Putin’s attempts to divide and weaken Europe, the West and the United States, despite the cost of supplying Ukraine with materiel and the economic shock of the war and sanctions on Russia, have united Europe and strengthened the transatlantic alliance, and has encouraged Europe to wean itself off of dependence on Russian energy. The more successfully Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity are defended, the more Russia is deterred from additional invasions or Communist China is deterred from invading Taiwan, among other potential aggressions.