Massimo D’Alema, the former Italian Prime Minister, has sparked a wave of indignation across Italy’s political spectrum after giving an interview in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square during a major military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in World War II. While he expressed a hope for a “message of peace” from China, his presence at the event drew fierce criticism from many Italian leaders.
In the interview, broadcast by Chinese television and later shared on social media, D’Alema praised the “heroic struggle of the Chinese people,” calling it crucial for China and all humanity in defeating Nazism and Fascism. He added that he hoped Beijing would send a “message for peace, for cooperation, for a return to a spirit of friendship among all peoples, and to end the wars tragically affecting many countries.”
The response from centre and right-wing politicians was swift and damning. Carlo Calenda of Azione accused D’Alema of going to Beijing “to celebrate the birth of an anti-Western front” and to “pay homage to Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Xi Jinping.” Galeazzo Bignami of Fratelli d’Italia deemed his presence “unacceptable,” stating that Western leaders like Giorgia Meloni are trying to maintain unity while “openly challenged by these three autocratic leaders.”
Forza Italia’s Maurizio Gasparri responded sarcastically, referencing D’Alema’s radical past, while League MP Marco Dreosto criticised D’Alema’s Democratic Party for hypocrisy.
The former premier did receive some support from the left. Maurizio Acerbo of the Communist Refoundation Party applauded D’Alema for not aligning with a “new Cold War with China that the US wants to impose.” Stefano Fassina praised him for his “awareness of History and the courage to speak.”
D’Alema also recounted a recent anecdote, revealing that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked him to sound out the potential for peace initiatives with the leaders of Brazil and China. According to D’Alema, a Chinese official told him he was the “first European to come and talk to us about this; the others only ask us not to support Russia.”