Right off the bat let me say it’s quite refreshing to actually hear PM Meloni express herself in English so one gets the accurate context – verbal and facial expressions – right.
First things first; what the hell is “Polycrisis” – yes new to me so had to look it up on wikipedia – so here’s the definition;
“a situation in which multiple, distinct crises (economic, environmental, geopolitical, social, or technological) occur simultaneously and interact in ways that amplify each other, producing outcomes more severe than the sum of the individual crises.”
Mmmmm, this will probably stick with us for a while because it quite accurately defines the situation we face today.
So the concept seems quite straight forward in terms of multiple crisis compounding/interacting with each other. What is far more consequential is how each leader (or country) categorizes the order of priorities to tackle the crisis and more importantly how they interconnect these elements (as in ‘a’ leads to ‘b’ leads or allows ‘c’…etc) , and the closer they are in achieving this task the quicker they can get to resolving the crisis and vice versa. For PM Meloni and other far right leaders it starts with migration and flows from it to “it” and that’s just it. The other elements are fillers just there to fill the gaps in terms of level of importance; that’s what I call politics of ideology rather than politics of realism / pragmatism. Consider the differences in approach as follows;
One strategy focused on ending migration. It begins/ends with using leverage of all other factors to end migration; economics, geopolitics, security and partnerships with other nations to achieve that objective (irrespective of whether partners chosen demonstrably share same or any other values). Question pertaining to International and/or humanitarian laws are NOT part of the mix; in fact they may well be considered detrimental to achieving the main target. Just consider this; her entire speech was mainly focused on migration; Polycrisis interconnectivity centered/supercharged by migration.
Another strategy would be to possibly begin by highlighting/centralizing the importance international law, then seeking to identify/resolve the main contributors to illegal migration flows which include consequential regional conflicts/climate change, then moving towards developing solid cross regional/long term partnerships based on solid shared interests/compatible values – rather than purely transactional temporary loose partnerships that are here today and gone with the wind by tomorrow; unreliable and a waste of effort, precious time and resources, but if you believe that in the world of today nations can afford the luxury of time/failure, well then good luck with that.
Both approaches above try and achieve stability but the difference between them is stark; one is defined in very narrow terms as a starting point to focus the minds for political ends and another begins by assessing the big picture and makes judgments/priorities and sets expectations based on realities and appreciating basic common sense approaches to strategy while being fully informed/appreciating lessons of history.
For PM Meloni her world view is shaped based entirely on a single focus point “migration” and everything starts and ends from there and beyond that point – as in photography – everything is blurred out. And similarly in photography also – there is something called “hyperlocal distance” where you adjust your camera settings in a way that you’re able to achieve acceptable sharpness throughout the frame. They’re both considered relevant artistic methods in the art of photography but in geopolitical terms one leads to clarity of vision from foreground to background while the other has the potential to lead to……well to what we have now “for now”….
In terms of PM Meloni’s obsession with migration – as the goto subject matter for alt right ideologies (seemingly with a racist streak in my opinion) – let me make a few points beginning with basics;
- The problem with migration starts with poor policy which the political establishment does not want to own and pushes the responsibility towards vulnerable people who in the main seek a better life (and sometimes just being able to have a life). When I say poor policy – or to be accurate “decades of poor policy” – I’m talking about migration reforms but equally important is integration (and I won’t say reforms because I see precious little of that effort; while some countries may be progressing in this direction I know little about their efforts). The common perception is that migrants need to adapt by themselves and communities will automatically be accommodating. No, there needs to be acceptance of migrants by the majority as a starting point before the legal migration cycle even begins and then there needs to be programs that helps develop effective means of integration between migrants and their community (proficiency in the language is key) – so not rocket science. Once the cycle starts and migrant becomes a legal temporary resident a nation is obliged to deal with it and the focus should shift to predominantly issues of integration before the situation moves to permanent residency. This stuff is NOT automatic; it requires serious efforts/resources and qualified personnel to manage this. If this already exists then there must be a failure somewhere in the structure and/or planning.
- A big part of the surge in migration is obviously due to regional conflicts around the world where many European nations – not all – are complicit in starting and prolonging them to levels of criminal liability and possibly a financial one too. So if leaders believe they can shift responsibilities of migration to migrants themselves yet again, well they can certainly do so but this will not make any difference whatsoever short, medium or long terms; you’re solving nothing and the situation will eventually get much worse; this is not fear-mongering but common sense. A better starting point is to begin to take accountability seriously and take charge of resolving these conflicts using political/economic leverage NOT as a side issue but as a matter of top priority. So rather than getting too sophisticated by talking “more modern interpretations”, “new definitions of third safe countries” “innovative solutions” as if you’re talking about an elaborate plan to move of bunch of chickens, why not take a stand and make real change that helps eliminate the problem altogether and possibly starting with a blank sheet by regulating the situation for existing migrants by treating them like human beings like Spain did; not the migrant “holiday” camps PM Meloni wants to create in “3rd” safe countries.
Consider some quite basic moral guidelines; some of those “values” you brag would come a long way.
- When PM Meloni talks of the EU’s/Europe’s capacity to react like in Ukraine the question is what this reaction has achieved to date? If throwing money at a conflict that was approaching in slow motion – which seems to represent the EU’s hand’s off model when confronted with powerful adversaries – and failing to take full charge of defending Ukraine at this time (after the US administration’s parachuting off the NATO supply “aircraft”) – both politically starting by leading a focused/direct negotiations with Russia representing Europe and then through solid militarily assistance at every level; if this is what you consider the “successful reaction”; well that’s one point of view I don’t buy cause its too cheap to apply.
With all the above and considering Italy’s historic connections/influence with many mediterranean countries both in the mideast & north Africa that spanned centuries it is sad that while Spain takes a stand on principles/values whether related to immigration/conflicts PM Meloni in representing Italy only seems to raise her hand in seeking resource supplies from the region or seeking help developing migrant camps on the other side of the mediterranean or anywhere else for that matter, I can only suggest that this story is not just a sad one considering the predicament of illegal migrants caught in the firing line due circumstances beyond their control but reveals an even sadder story for Italy itself and where it is today moving forward yet looking backward.
But then again who knows; maybe things will turn out to be super-duper led by one or another alt-right trooper who can “lead” us in “following” the footsteps of the American bear and make Europe cool again.
On a more serious note let me say that I genuinely do want the best for Europe but its the political establishment that continues to fail because its operating on the basis of “too large to fail” rather than on merits/direction of travel; like a train it follows one path and does not seem to adjust beyond moving forward and backward where agility/pragmatism/realism are key to survival in this day and age not narrow ideology.