E’ finita la luna di miele? La contestazione dell’Unione Europea nell’opinione pubblica e nella classe politica italiana

Abstract

This chapter illustrates – by presenting the official speeches of the then President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1999 – 2006) – his passionate and convinced support for the process of European integration in a context of growing Euro-scepticism in both the Italian public opinion and political parties. In particular, it focuses on the positions of the President on the common currency, the semester of Italian Presidency of the European Union and the negative outcome of the referendum for the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands. It is argued that his strong belief in the deepening of European integration is necessarily grounded in the tragedy of the Second World War and the bloodshed his generation has known, but it is far from being limited to this aspect. Throughout his mandate, the President set up a dialogue with public opinion and civil society, seeking to show the concrete and tangible benefits that the European choice entails: for instance, in the financial stability brought by the Euro. President Ciampi vigorously reaffirmed the traditional pro-European position of Italy, making use of all his political and moral authority to limit the diffusion of the emerging anti-European feelings in the country