Overview
- Undersecretary Giovanbattista Fazzolari said Vladimir Putin would “surely vote no” on Italy’s justice referendum, citing Russia’s lack of separation of legal careers.
- The comment was made to reporters at a Fratelli d’Italia event in the Senate marking four years since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- PD leader Elly Schlein condemned the remark as further delegitimization of the judiciary and criticized FdI’s tone despite President Mattarella’s calls to lower tensions.
- PD parliamentary leader Francesco Boccia called the statement shameful and said it showed the government steering propaganda for the referendum’s “yes” camp.
- Fazzolari later said it was an informal joke in response to a provocative question and reiterated that anyone opposing support for Ukraine effectively excludes themselves from the center-right coalition, a stance seen as a rebuke to Roberto Vannacci.