“Agriculture and wine are central to the Government”: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Vinitaly

To reconfirm that Italian agriculture and wine in agriculture are central to the Government; to renew investments in young people and in the technical training in agricultural and hotel schools, thereby giving a future to Made in Italy; to celebrate, on the most illustrious stage of Italian wine, Vinitaly, the first National Day of Made in Italy, on the day of the birth of the genius par excellence, Leonardo Da Vinci. These are the three reasons “that, in spite of the difficult situations in these past few days, I wanted to be here at all costs”, said the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who returned to Vinitaly 2024, in Verona, to demonstrate the support for the wine sector, “which is a fundamental part of our identity as Italians”. On stage with the number one Italian anchorman, Bruno Vespa - “whom I thank not so much for his work as a journalist, but for his work as a wine producer”, the Premier joked - as well as the Ministers of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, Education, Giuseppe Valditara, and the students from many hotel and agricultural institutes, awarded by the CREA competition dedicated to their best wines.
“We are here to reiterate the value and centrality that this Government gives to agriculture”, Meloni said, “to protect the possibility and the ability of our farmers to produce excellent products, sold at the right price, rewarding the work they do every day. They are a part of Made in Italy. We know, however, that there are also other interpretations in Europe, which we want to oppose. In Brussels, whoever thought that nature could be defended by going against farmers”, said the Prime Minister, “did not know what we were talking about: farmers are the first bio regulators. Man defends the environment with his work. The Government has done a great job at the National level. It has increased the resources for the sector from 5 to 8 billion euros through the revision of the PNRR (national recovery and resilience plan), and we have carried out battles in Europe, which then other Nations have followed, because when you are pragmatic and credible, as Italy is, together with many trade associations, you can be a trailblazer, and be followed. Today is the first National Day of Made in Italy, established by a bill that this Government passed to support the value of Made in Italy for our economy and for Italy’s name. The quality and size of our products are an important part of our image around the world, which is genius, research, intelligence, and quality. This is why we chose April 15th, the birthday of the greatest Italian genius, Leonardo da Vinci. Our identity is our genius. We have worked hard, also in the fight against counterfeiting of Made in Italy products, which is not only an economic problem, but compromises the image of our quality. If you think you are buying Italian, but it is not, and you buy a product that is not even remotely close to our standard of excellency, you create enormous damage, and we must be inflexible on this issue”.
Giorgia Meloni spoke above all to the students. “In the law on Made in Italy, there is also the Made in Italy High School, and this is why I am happy to find so many young people. We know that there is a problem of training skills and of companies that cannot find young people. But, above all, there is a cultural problem: for too long we have considered technical education as if it were “second-class”, as if to be a person of a certain level one necessarily had to attend a high school and not a technical institute. This is why we called it the Made in Italy High School, because Made in Italy, the one made with head, hands and heart, is a fundamental piece of our history. Think about wine, which is in poems, in literature, in paintings, in sculptures. But if we can’t convey all this to young people, all the rules we make won’t make a difference. Young people must believe first in agriculture and wine. Of course, better and better education is needed. Anyone may say what they want, but you will keep Italian culture standing, thank you for what you will do, telling the extraordinary nature of Italy around the world”, Giorgia Meloni concluded, before starting a short “journey” into the Italian wine world, among the producers participating at Vinitaly. She also crossed paths with WineNews, who asked whether today's Italian wine needs more protection or promotion, and the answer was concise: “both”.