All this, one may say, puts the view of Donald Tusk that irresponsible Brexiting politicians deserve a special place in hell into perspective.
The UK leaving the European Union may resemble the various long retreats from Moscow at the end of failed campaigns; but the real diplomatic warfare threatened in Europe is now between France and Italy.
Matteo Salvini, the Italian deputy minister, has advised the French to get rid of their “terrible leader” Emmanuel Macron, and apparently throws darts at a picture of the French president.
Macron has described right-wing populism of the Rome government as a kind of “leprosy” spreading across Europe. Italy has even threatened to stop a loan of Leonardo da Vinci’s works for a show in Paris at the Louvre.
France has now recalled its ambassador to Rome in protest at antagonism it says has reached the level of the Second World War
France was among the countries that supplied arms to Haftar’s forces as he spread his reach. A spokesman for the general said recently: “We had a common interest, which is combating terrorism. France wanted to pursue terrorist groups in our neighbouring countries from the south, such as Chad, Mali and Niger.”
Salvini, however, holds that it is not counterterrorism which has drawn the French back to Libya. “France has no interest in stabilising the situation, probably because it has oil interests that are opposed to those of Italy,” he claimed. The oil conglomerates Eni, Italian and the French Total, have separate ventures in Libya.
French government officials dismissed the Italian accusations as “ludicrous and baseless”. One said: “These are empty words, for populist consumption back home.” The Italian ambassador was summoned to the French foreign ministry and a protest was lodged.
The Italian government has, in fact, been very careful not to blame London over what happened, ignoring that the UK has been among those accepting the lowest numbers of those coming across the Mediterranean. One reason behind this is apparently that Northern League/Five Star, antipathetic to Brussels, see Brexit Britain as an ally.
It is not just French action in Libya eight years ago which is the target of Italian anger. Di Maio last month charged: “France, above all, has never stopped colonising dozens of African countries”. If it was not for Africa, France would rank 15th in world economies, not in the top six, said the deputy prime minister as he demanded the European Union imposes sanctions on Paris.
Libya, in particular, has become a diplomatic battleground between Italy and France: and not just over migration. The Italians, Libya’s former colonial rulers, were at the forefront of western states reopening a diplomatic mission in Italy amid the post-Gaddafi turbulence, and saw themselves as leading the European efforts to form a government among the warring factions.
France is a particular target on this count, not just because it has sent refugees back to Italy but also because of its part in getting Nato to carry out the bombing campaign which led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, and the state of semi-anarchy in the country which made it a haven for people-smugglers.
It is worth recalling that the European Union used to pay Col Gaddafi to ensure that his country was not a major conduit for the trade, and he had broadly kept his side of the bargain.
Salvini retaliated in a Facebook video saying, “I hope the French will be able to free themselves of a terrible president”, urging voters not to vote for En Marche! and emphasising his closeness to Marine Le Pen, whose party, National Rally (formerly Le Front National), is scoring high in the polls with the European elections coming up in May.
Di Maio, meanwhile, met leaders of the gilets jaunes this week who are thinking of running in the elections and wanted to stress “the wind of change has crossed the Alps” and a “new Europe is being born of the yellow vests”.
Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, a compromise appointment between La Liga and Five Star, had his own take on the attacks on Macron. The Italian TV channel La7 broadcast footage of him and Angela Merkel at a bar during the Davos conference in which he says Di Maio had gone on the offensive because his party was down in the polls ahead of the European elections and needed an enemy. The German chancellor is seen laughing in response.