Undersecretary of Justice Andrea Delmastro denounces: «Enough hypocrisy». In the 2,304 “peace” marches, 242 officers were injured
The photograph of Italian public order in the last year is contained in two figures that leave no room for interpretation: 2,304 marches defined as “for peace” and 242 officers injured. Numbers that tell of a reality that is anything but peaceful and which, in the last few hours, have pushed the Undersecretary of Justice Andrea Delmastro to intervene with a post with very harsh tones, bluntly titled «Enough hypocrisy». For Delmastrothese data mark the failure of a narrative that continues to describe squares as places of civil protest, when in reality – he claims – they are used by organized groups to transform the mobilization into a terrain of political and physical conflict against the institutions. «More than pacifism”writes the undersecretary, denouncing a specific desire to raise tension, create damage and put the Law enforcement.
This is not an isolated complaint. In this latest season of marches, the methods of violence have shown a disturbing coherence: well-coordinated infiltrations, improvised helmets and shields, throwing of objects, attempts to break through security cordons, routes purposely diverted towards sensitive objectives. A repertoire that cannot be attributed to chance, nor to a few troublemakers. Delmastro speaks openly about «intentionality», of groups that do not participate to express an idea, but to seek conflict.
According to the undersecretary, what makes the situation even more critical is the political climate surrounding these mobilisations. A part of the left – he states – continues to downplay episodes of violence, preferring to talk about “disproportionate reactions” by the police or “provocations”. It is a script that repeats itself cyclically and which, according to him, ends up providing a sort of indirect legitimation to those who use the square as a political weapon. «With the approval of a certain left», writes Delmastro, pointing the finger at what he defines as a “ ideological protection”. The undersecretary’s line is clear: no more mitigating factors, no gray areas. «Those who attack the police attack the State and must be treated for what they are: a criminal». A position that recalls the responsibility of the state in protecting not only the safety of its agents, but also the democratic stability of the country. Because, he warns Delmastro, una democrazia non può tollerare che il diritto di manifestare venga trasformato in una copertura per l’aggressione sistematica alle istituzioni. The numbers, moreover, tell of a now structured phenomenon. More than two thousand marches, hundreds of injured officers, tens of millions of euros spent on security, weeks of growing tensions in the main Italian cities. A picture that highlights a leap in quality in street dynamics and raises questions about the State’s ability to prevent organized minorities from seizing the space of civil dissent by transforming it into an arena of political violence. The appeal of Delmastro — «enough hypocrisy» — is not just a political outburst, but a warning: ignoring these signals means leaving the field open to a strategy that aims to weaken the institutions precisely where they are most visible, in the streets, in the squares, in the places where democracy is confronted every day with its most concrete dimension. And the numbers, once again, speak louder than any slogan.
