Troops in Ukraine, Salvini attacks Macron and Paris summons ambassador. The leghist insists: 'Too touchy'

France has convoked the Italian ambassador in Paris, Emanuela D'Alessandro, "following Matteo Salvini's unacceptable comments" against Emmanuel Macron over his support for sending troops to Ukraine. Reported by Afp, the summons to the Quai d'Orsay, the French foreign ministry, came a few hours after the Leghist leader, on Thursday, had invited the French president - in Milanese dialect - to "taches al tram", i.e., to attach himself to the tram by polemically urging him to go to Ukraine: "You put on your helmet, jacket, rifle and go to Ukraine," Salvini had said on the sidelines of an inspection in Via Bolla in Milan, commenting on France's hypothesis of sending troops on the ground.

Salvini had also extolled Donald Trump's policy - "with his ways that at times may seem brusque or irritable, he is succeeding where they have all failed" - while criticising the "macronatas" that involve, it is the accusation, "European armies, European rearmaments, common European debts to buy missiles". Hence the diplomatic incident that forced Paris - as reported by a France Press source - to point out "that these comments are contrary to the climate of trust and historical relations between the two countries, as well as recent bilateral developments that have shown strong convergences, particularly with regard to their unwavering support for Ukraine".

Weighing on the decision and the urgency of the ambassador's summons was most probably the vice-premier's habitual attacks on Macron, who is often publicly called a 'warmonger' and a 'bombardier'. These terms were also reused last Thursday when, however, that sentence on the clear 'no' to Italian troops in Ukraine was said specifying his position 'as vice-president of the Council, as minister, as secretary of the League'. Among the various lunges at Macron, the one at the beginning of last March, again challenging the idea of a European army: there will never be, the Lega leader said at the time, 'a European army commanded by that madman Macron who talks of nuclear war'.

A slap in the face to Salvini comes from Forza Italia. "Italian foreign policy is up to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. What has happened will not change our friendly relations with France, despite the different sensitivities. We are allies with Paris and we will remain even more so at such a critical time in the international framework,' says Deborah Bergamini, Forza Italia's deputy national secretary and the party's foreign affairs officer.

On the latest diplomatic incident with the Elysée Palace, the leader of the League in the Senate, Massimiliano Romeo tries to put a patch on it like this: 'If Macron denies the will to invite European soldiers to fight in Ukraine, problem closed. And continuing to bring up the European nuclear umbrella, European armies, European missiles and bazookas does not help at this time: let's let the glimmers of peace go on, let's let Trump and those who really want peace work".