By Álvaro Peñas
Interview with Francesco Giubilei, editor of Historica and Giubilei Regnani, professor at the Giustino Fortunato University of Benevento and president of the Tatarella Foundation. He is the author of eight books, including “Giorgia Meloni. La mujer al frente del partido revelación de Italia”, published in Spain by Homo Legens. In 2017 he founded the association Nazione Futura, he is a member of the scientific committee of some foundations and of the Aspen Junior Fellows. He was included by “Forbes” among the 100 most influential young people under 30 in Italy.
What is Nazione Futura and what are its objectives?
Nazione Futura is a think tank born in 2017, which in the following years has become the leading Italian conservative think tank. Nazione Futura’s activity is materialised through the publication of a quarterly paper magazine, an online newspaper, the organisation of conferences and meetings, and through the activities of more than 70 local clubs throughout Italy. Our aim is to conduct a series of political-cultural battles and to spread the values of conservatism both in Italy and in Europe. We have achieved important results from the legitimisation of the term conservative in the Italian political debate and have fought an important battle on the issue of green conservatism, explaining how the environment is not only an issue dear to the left, and focusing on the relationship between the world of politics and think tanks and foundations.
In October you were in Budapest at the formation of the Alliance for the Common Good (ACG) together with organisations from the Visegrad countries. Do you think Hungary and Poland are the model for European conservatives to follow?
We have signed a partnership with some of the leading foundations in Central Europe with the aim of carrying out initiatives on common issues that include the Hungarian and Polish realities. What is happening in Hungary and Poland should be followed closely. It is necessary to start from the assumption that each nation has its own history and respect for the will of the people. If Hungarians and Poles have voted for right-wing governments, it is necessary to respect their will; if this respect is lacking, it means that the very concept of democracy is called into question.
You also maintain good relations with organisations outside Europe and speak out in favour of a Conservative International. Is a global response to the cancellation culture and political correctness possible?
A response to the culture of cancellation and political correctness is not only possible, it is necessary, and the only way to achieve it is a grand alliance among Western conservatives that cuts across the cultural and political world, and is based above all on respect for common sense. It is amazing how a basic concept like common sense has now been completely lost and things that until a few years ago we took for granted today have suddenly become unacceptable. The secular habits, the lifestyles that have always characterised our civilisation are under attack and it is up to conservatives to defend them. We are facing a battle that does not affect a single state, but the entire international community and therefore demands shared responses from conservatives around the world.
You revealed the infamous European Commission document recommending not to send Christmas greetings so as not to offend. In the face of the scandal, the Commission has backed down.
It was a major achievement. After the scoop, which we did with the newspaper “Il Giornale”, there was a positioning of the political world, not only in Italy but throughout Europe, and there was an important and obvious result: the European Commission withdrew the document. It was a text for internal consumption with “guidelines for inclusive communication” and with a series of incredible indications that included the prohibition of using the word Christmas or the names Mary and John because they are Christian. In principle it was a document with a series of indications on communication, but in reality it was something deeper and represented an attempt to overhaul our society by discussing customs and habits and carrying out a real attack on Europe’s Christian roots.
The ideological drift of the European Commission is growing, can the EU survive this globalist ideology?
We need to rethink the current European Union by building a different Europe that is a Europe of peoples and nations that truly cares about the interests of citizens, avoids ideological drift and is not ashamed of its own history and identity. Today’s EU is governed by a system that not only does not take our traditions into consideration but wants to erase them through a principle that Roger Scruton defines as “oikophobia”, the hatred of one’s own homeland and thus of one’s own history. Sometimes it seems that we are witnessing a kind of institutionalised cancellation culture.
Regarding Italy, how do you see the correlation of forces between Lega and FdI, and who do you think will lead the Italian right?
The centre-right in Italy has always had an agreement that the party in the coalition that got the most votes would be the leader of the coalition (or in case of victory the prime minister), it was like that for a year with Silvio Berlusconi and then with Matteo Salvini, and it will be like that when the vote is taken. Today, Lega and FdI are competing for the leadership of the coalition, both Meloni and Salvini lead two large parties with points in common but also with several differences, and it will be the Italians who will decide who will be the next leader of the centre-right.
Given what is happening in Italy with the imposition of the Covid passport, do you think there will be elections soon or will there be a Draghi government for a while?
In February a new President of the Republic will be elected to succeed Mattarella, and there are several possible scenarios, including the election of Mario Draghi. If so, it would be possible to vote again in 2022, otherwise we would have to wait until 2023. The victory of the centre-right is not certain as there are several scenarios where there is the possibility of the birth of a new centre coalition, while the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement will remain united in the elections.
Source: El Correo de España