Mattarella: 2 June marked the fulfilment of an unprecedented act of freedom

Towards the end of the 2 June parade at the Imperial Forum, various representatives of the mounted units of the Army, Carabinieri and State Police paraded. On the night between last Friday and Saturday, during rehearsals for the event, a group of thirty horses had escaped into the street, set off by firework explosions, injuring a policewoman and three military personnel as well as damaging several cars.

Instead, the parachutists' jump was skipped. The five Army athletes who were supposed to free-fall from a helicopter from a height of about 1,500 metres had to suspend their jump because the weather conditions were not optimal, with 70 knots of wind. The five parachutists are part of the sports activities department of the parachute training centre of the Brigata Folgore. The Frecce Tricolori closed the event on the Imperial Forums. The President of the Republic, on board the Lancia Flaminia, left the site of the ceremony escorted by a mounted formation of the cuirassiers regiment.

Government, institutions and parties celebrated 2 June in the square in Rome with an all-round tribute to this historic date for the country. Meloni, La Russa, Fontana and Crosetto followed the parade from the stage. From the count of the participants (the government was almost complete), the vice-premier Matteo Salvini was once again absent from the celebrations (he then announced that he had 'spent the entire morning working on transport and public works to be completed, Pnrr in primis, with the objective, among others, of avoiding the railway strike on 11 June'). An absence noted by reporters who were following the institutional and political leaders between the Vittoriano and the Fori. Which is however accompanied by weighty absences also on the opposition front. In fact, the leaders of the PD Elly Schlein and of the 5 Star Giuseppe Conte were also present at the roll call. The president of the Senate, La Russa, questioned on the matter on the fringe of the celebrations, relaunched by saying that he had not seen an opposition group leader 'except those of Italia Viva'. He added: 'I never ask where they are, it's others who have the mania to ask where the others are'. However, the Carroccio delegation was represented by, among others, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti and other members of the via Bellerio party.

The President of the Republic, on the occasion of Republic Day, sent a message to the Chief of Defence Staff, Luciano Portolano. "Eighty years have passed since that 2 June 1946 that marked the fulfilment by Italians of an unprecedented act of freedom," the document reads. With universal suffrage, women and men, together for the first time, decided to leave behind the rubble of war and the nefariousness of an oppressive and totalitarian regime, to begin the reconstruction of a free, democratic, republican country. On the eightieth anniversary of the Republic, we honour the memory of the soldiers who, with the Combat Groups, units that, with self-sacrifice and valour fought in the War of Liberation, were among the protagonists of the rebirth of Italia, restoring honour and freedom to the nation'.

"Today we are not only celebrating a historic anniversary, but a moment of high significance that renews the collective commitment to the affirmation, protection and full implementation of the values that are at the heart of our Constitution, the 'common home' that guarantees the life of our national community, our rights, while reminding us of our duties of solidarity. The difficulties and risks affecting our security and well-being today," the Head of State continued, "must be addressed firmly. There can be no true peace as long as hotbeds of threat remain, and there can be no true well-being if even a part of humanity is forced to live in precariousness'.

"Italia, with Europe, is committed to restoring the value of rules in the life of the international community, to emerge from a phase of permanent conflict, in the building of a new effective security for all peoples. The Italian Armed Forces, pillars of the Republic and guardians of the principles at the basis of peaceful coexistence between peoples, are called upon to contribute to the achievement of this objective," Mattarella concluded. "It is with these sentiments, in the memory of those who have sacrificed their lives for the independence and freedom of their homeland, that together with the entire Italian people I ideally embrace the military of every order and rank, renewing my gratitude for their commitment, with my most fervent wishes. Long live the Armed Forces, long live the Republic'.

"I think this is a celebration of gratitude and responsibility," said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on the sidelines of the celebrations. "A celebration of gratitude, because what we have today we must always remember that someone built it before us, with great stories and with small daily gestures, with small choices made by each of us. And of responsibility because after 80 years we must also ask ourselves what kind of Republic we want to be tomorrow,' the premier added.

"We live in complex, difficult times, in which democracies, like ours, are called upon to confront new threats and increasingly unstable and dangerous international balances," writes Minister Crosetto, in a message for Republic Day. "Today, the borders to be defended are not only geographical ones: they are those of cyberspace, of space, of critical infrastructure, of energy networks, of technologies, of fake news, on which our security and freedom depend. Today, for us as for Italia, for an entire nation, safeguarding the institutions, the Republic, democracy, means guaranteeing and protecting our certainties: freedom, the State, civil life, security. For this reason," concluded the Defence Minister, "we have a duty to build, as we have been doing for years, silently, without clamour, but with confidence, a credible, modern and well-prepared Defence, to guarantee peace and protect citizens".