However, the opposition is against this proposal.
The Italian right-wing populist League party – a partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government – on Thursday submitted a law for Italy’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). This was reported by the AFP agency, writes TASR.
A spokeswoman for Meloni, whose national-conservative Brotherhood of Italy (FdI) party is the strongest in parliament, said she does not have an opinion on the draft law for now. The opposition parties have already condemned the proposal for Italy’s withdrawal from the WHO.
This situation in Italy occurred just a few days after US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the US from the WTO.
League senator Claudio Borghi said that the WHO has “too much power”. He added that Italy’s contribution to the WHO budget could be spent more effectively. According to him, it is 100 million euros per year that could be transferred to the health sector in Italy or other projects, e.g. with the United States.
Sandra Zampová, who is a senator for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) and was in charge of the Ministry of Health during the pandemic, pointed out that “there is no sovereignty when it comes to protecting public health, because viruses and diseases do not respect borders.”
The League, led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, has been losing voters to the party led by Giorgio Meloni for years. In response, the League has increasingly leaned toward the political right, as embodied by Donald Trump.
Meloni is also vying for Trump’s favor, who was the only EU leader at his inauguration on Monday, January 20.
The Italian prime minister has not yet commented on any of Trump’s numerous statements and statuses on social networks that he has published since taking office as US president. Many of the measures announced or considered by Trump – especially the threat of trade tariffs and demands for more defense spending for NATO members – could have a big impact on indebted Italy, notes AFP.
