Italian MEP Zanni Argues Spanish Factions End Their ‘War among the Poor,’ and Unite against EU

European Parliament member Marco Zanni (Italy) has intervened into the Spanish crisis by arguing that the factions should end the “war between the poorer and the less poor,” and unite their forces to defend the nation-state against the EU dictatorship. Zanni was interviewed by Sputnik, and also posted a longer Facebook statement which integrated the Sputnik interview.

In his Facebook post, Marco makes it clear that neither Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy nor the Catalans are on the right side. “It is a war between the poorer and the less poor, where, however, both are losing, and those responsible for it, the real winners, stay behind a window to enjoy the show and their victory.

“The euro and austerity policies, with their nefarious effects on the economy and living conditions of the population, especially the weakest layers, have fed conflicts and tensions within the EU, both among different layers of the population and different territories inside the same state, and transnationally, among states.” Such tensions are bringing us back to historical periods and “socio-political situations that could precipitate the situation in an even more dramatic way. Forget the 60 years of peace and prosperity: Today, the effects of EU policies are feeding a dangerous civil war inside of Europe and inside member states.

“I conclude by reiterating a concept which, beyond everything, I consider fundamental for our battle against the EU dictatorship: Today, the room for discussion and democratic fight inside this rotten system is and will be the nation-state and our national constitutions. Within this state we must continue our fight for a substantial, not a cosmetic democracy, to re-establish social-economic protections written clearly into our Constitution. It is therefore our task to defend the integrity of the nation-state as the natural space for democratic dialectic.”

Zanni concluded with a reference to the consultative referendum organized by the Lega Nord Oct. 22 in Northern Italy: “We can certainly discuss more or less autonomy in the management of resources and competences, and this can be positive, but always within the frame of this container [i.e., the nation-state]. To preserve the integrity of the nation-state is a fundamental step to carry out our fight against illegitimate and anti-democratic institutions.”

In Sputnik, Zanni said that “the most important political consequence of what happened… [on Sunday] in Catalonia, will be the end of this minority government and the end of the political career of Rajoy,” Zanni said to Sputnik. “In fact, without the support of the Basque Independence Party [the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV)], he [rajoy] will not be able to pass the 2018 budget in the parliament; that will trigger early elections in spring of 2018, without a clear view on the result. …

“For the EU, the consequences could be twofold: There could be a negative impact on future reforms of the EU and the Eurozone (Rajoy has been one of the most important allies for EU institution and Brussels), and an impact on the stability of Spain and Spanish government, that could bring Podemos or other anti-EU parties to power in Spain.” In his Facebook statement, however, Zanni made his view clear that neither Podemos nor any other political formation in Spain constitutes a real threat to the EU at this point.

Zanni also stressed that in the case of Spanish police brutality in Catalonia, the EU has not used Article 7 of the European Treaty, which establishes the procedure for penalizing member states for rights violations, whereas they did use it against the Polish and Hungarian governments.