Democratic Party insists: "We will block the chamber if the government doesn't report on Gaza." Tajani in the Chamber on October 2nd

The Democratic Party has no intention of giving up. Along with the Five Star Movement, they reiterated that they will not participate in the floor until the government reports on Italy's position on Gaza. And after the controversy, the government announced that Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will deliver the briefing on the situation in the Strip next Thursday, October 2nd, in Parliament, in the morning at the Chamber of Deputies and in the afternoon at Palazzo Madama.

The opposition has been protesting for some time. Yesterday, there was renewed controversy over Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni 's live broadcast on RaiUno, where she supported the candidacy of Italian cuisine for UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage and talked about her Sunday family meals with pasta (" She refuses to come to Parliament to discuss Gaza, but she continues to find time to make election commercials about public service," Elly Schlein said). Today, the Democrats returned to the fray, also on the day of the general strike called by grassroots unions in solidarity with the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. "On the eve of important international summits and crucial European elections, we strongly denounce the government's unwillingness to come to Parliament to explain Italy's position on the Palestinian issue. This is a very serious matter," Paolo Ciani, vice president of the Democratic Party group in the Chamber of Deputies, denounced in the Chamber at the start of the session. "We will use all the tools the Rules of Procedure provide us, because we are unwilling to resume voting until the government has committed to coming to Parliament to make statements. It is intolerable that, faced with a united request from all the opposition parties, the government is moving forward without saying a word."

For Ciani, "a government that ignores Parliament and leaves Italians in the dark about foreign policy betrays democracy: Meloni must clearly explain which side Italy is on. Parliament must vote on the government's communications, because Italian men and women, and the many young people who took to the streets today, have the right to know which side of history the MPs they elected stand on," Ciani continued during the general debate underway in Montecitorio.

Carmen Di Lauro of the Five Star Movement then spoke, making the same request to the presidency: that Prime Minister Meloni report to the chamber on the government's position on Gaza.

Subsequently, at the end of the general discussion on the decree appointing Agenas as a special administration, Andrea Casu spoke on behalf of the Democratic Party, criticizing Vice President Fabio Rampelli for failing to respond to Ciani and Di Lauro's earlier appeal. "It is essential that Meloni clarify the government's position. The House must not only be informed but also called to vote." "We will use all the tools set out in the rules," he concluded, "to block the vote. We are unwilling to vote until the government has reported to the House."

Rampelli, in turn, explained why he didn't respond to Ciani and Di Lauro's appeal: "The Speaker of the Chamber and the Minister for Relations with Parliament are promptly informed of the request." "If I didn't respond immediately, it's because I was waiting for the substantive speeches on the measure to be concluded. We're not in a position to force the government to come to the floor. The government has its own timeframe and its own positions; it will argue them in one case or another."

Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte also took issue with the prime minister: "This weekend, Great Britain, Portugal, Australia, and Canada recognized the State of Palestine. Meloni was busy on TV talking about pastries and even appeared before the youth of her party to talk about courage: something she lacks, not even when it comes to humane choices in responding to the ongoing genocide. She's shaking because she can't displease Washington and her friend Netanyahu , not even in the face of over 60,000 deaths, 20,000 of them children. Fortunately, there's a better Italy. This cowardice doesn't represent us," the former prime minister wrote on social media.