This article appears in the August 9, 2024 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.
Forum of Italian Independence
Helga Zepp-LaRouche Addresses Sovereignism and Peace
[Print version of this article]
July 31—Schiller Institute leader Helga Zepp-LaRouche was a guest speaker at a July 27 panel titled “The Ghost of Sovereignism Is Once Again Haunting Europe,” part of the three-day “Forum of Italian Independence” held in the beautiful Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo in Orvieto, Italy, July 26-28. The sponsor was the Indipendenza! Party (Independence Party), formed in November, 2023. Independence Party National Secretary Gianni Alemanno, in summarizing the mission of the Forum, issued a call for sovereignist movements in Europe to unite, and to not repeat the mistakes of the past: embracing free-market policies and Islamophobia.
Zepp-LaRouche’s forthright intervention into the conference dialogue was enthusiastically received. She asserted that the political and economic crisis in Germany is a consequence of the incompetence of the Berlin “traffic light” coalition government (red, yellow, and green representing, respectively, the Social Democrats, the Free Democrats, and the Greens) and its total submission to Anglo-American policies. There is a “lifeboat,” she said, represented by collaboration with the Global South, and she called for a new Classical Renaissance to bring forth the best of each country. Warning of the war danger, Zepp-LaRouche called for the urgent creation of an international Council of Reason.
The full transcript of her panel contributions follows this article.
‘Independent Italy in a New Multipolar World’
On day one, National Secretary Alemanno addressed the Forum. The opening panel, “Independent Italy in a New Multipolar World,” featured Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Paramonov, and American economist Jeffrey Sachs, in dialogue, moderated by economist Michele Geraci, foreign policy spokesman for the Independence Party.
Alemanno’s remarks were reported by Agenparl, the daily news agency for the Italian Parliament. Under the headline, “Orvieto, Alemanno: Peace Is the Common Aim of All European Sovereignists,” Agenparl wrote, “What emerges as the common and unifying motive of all European sovereignty is the desire to rebuild peace on our continent. This belies the monstrous narrative being made of this emerging political phenomenon. While Ursula von der Leyen and all the zealots in her majority, along with European conservatives, are siding with NATO to carry on the war in Ukraine by all means, European sovereignists and Donald Trump himself are distinguished by a willingness to end this slaughter. This should give all common-sense political observers pause for thought.”
Alemanno, towards the end of the panel discussion on day one, referred to the presence of Ambassador Paramonov, saying, as reported by Italian state television’s Rai News, “Today we broke a taboo: This is the first time, since the beginning of the conflict with Ukraine, that the Russian Ambassador has been invited to a political discussion in Italy. It is madness that it has not happened before, not only because Italy has never broken diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, but especially because to end the war it is necessary to talk not only with Kiev but also with the authorities in Moscow.” He continued, “Italy’s role must be to promote dialogue, not to be on the front lines sending weapons to the front. We cannot leave this role to Viktor Orbán alone, for humanitarian reasons and to defend our national interest, which is suffering very serious economic damage from the conflict with Russia. Today we have opened a way; we hope that other political forces and especially our institutions will take courage and rebuild a relationship that cannot be delegated to others.”
Russian Ambassador Paramonov gave a very hard-hitting presentation, covered widely in the Italian mainstream media, including Il Fatto Quotidiano and Quotidiano Nazionale. As reported by Rai News, Paramonov said, “Refusing to acknowledge inevitable global trends, the United States does not stop trying by all means to spread its ideology throughout the world in order to maintain its imperial status and dominance. Were it not for this dead-end path and Washington’s aggressive messianism, international relations would have stabilized long ago.
“The actions of the United States and its allies hinder international cooperation and the building of a more just world,” Paramonov continued, “they hold whole countries and regions hostage, prevent peoples from exercising their sovereign rights enshrined in the UN Charter, and distract from the joint action needed to resolve conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and other areas, to reduce global inequalities, and to eliminate the threats of terrorism, narco-crime and hunger. Sometimes, it seems that European politicians in government and representatives of the European bureaucracy are more afraid of falling foul of Washington than of losing the trust of their own people, their own citizens. Today, when deciding who will form the future U.S. administration, Western leaders are following the outcome of the presidential race with bated breath, waiting and pondering to which of the two contenders it is convenient to prove their loyalty. The Europeans, of course, must realize the suicidal role they have been assigned. In order to contain Russia, China and other countries, whose independent policies are perceived as a challenge to hegemony, the Americans are ready to put the entire collective West under fire, to expand trade and economic warfare with undesirables, to unleash a campaign of unilateral competitive measures that, like a boomerang, will affect Europe itself.”
This analysis resonated strongly, since at the very same time as the Forum, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was on a five-day visit to Beijing, July 27-31, aimed at strengthening economic ties, and discussing the war in Ukraine. Italy has generally had good ties with China, but in December of 2023 came a hiatus when the new Meloni government decided to “unjoin” its membership in the Belt and Road Initiative, which it had joined in March 2019 as the only Group of Seven nation to do so.
‘The Ghost of Sovereignism Is Once Again Haunting Europe’
The second day of the Forum, Giuseppe Lauria, from the Independence Party, moderated the panel, “The Ghost of Sovereignism Is Once Again Haunting Europe.” Along with Helga Zepp-LaRouche, the participants included Francesco Toscano, President of Democrazia Sovrana Popolare, German Member of Parliament Mathias Moosdorf (Alternative für Deutschland/Alternative for Germany), and Derzi Ákos, Vice President of the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement in Romania, which is an ally of the Fidesz Party of Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary. Agenparl reported in brief on points made by each.
MP Moosdorf said, “We live in a dangerous moment of crisis, because we are constantly confronted with the crossroads of war or peace. We propose ourselves as the Party of Peace, and we want to dialogue with all parties around the world that have our positions and pull Europe out of this crisis.” Toscano spoke to restoring sovereignty for peace: “We are living through a very complicated historical hairpin turn; there is a realization that the wall-to-wall with Russia is absolutely detrimental. We hope that soon politics will return to take over from the financial, economic and military powers that today effectively nullify the prospect of peace.” Ákos expressed his gratitude for the event, saying, “I am glad to have participated in this event. I think this kind of dialogue is the real way to get the European Union back on the authentic Christian path and to overcome all the wars we are experiencing.”
Agenparl summarized Helga Zepp-LaRouche: “Participation in this important event gives me hope; the great traditions of the European continent, particularly in Italy, must be defended with policies to protect our countries from foreign powers. We need to create a new system that can enable us to be independent in order to build peace in Europe.”
