The prudent reader understands that the publication of this article took place after the date of the European elections, as established, for a fair excess of respect for the institutions and the reader ... voter. The fact of highlighting this respect for institutions and voters is even more important given the embarrassing situation in which I found myself by receiving and reading all the opinions, because the attempt to determine in one sense rather than another said collection of assessments and, consequently, the political message, seemed evident - imprinted by the readers, not from the editorial staff - contained in this article that you are about to read. I speak of e-mails of many readers who have arrived, in pairs of two or three and almost simultaneously, having the same identical titles and many parts of the text perfectly overlapping, even if sent by apparently different people. I also speak of communications openly coming from activists of a political party arrived in a couple of waves, also synchronous to them. Finally, I speak of a "hyperactivity" of visitors on the announcement of the collection of opinions, which had happened only and only the last time there had been talk of Minister Elisabetta Trenta.
This premise does not mean that I will censor anyone, nor that the attempt at influence really came from the grillini: Online Defense and the writer is very keen on everyone's freedom of expression and detests media lynchings. However, in the era of sorting fake news, the reader will be warned when he finds himself confronted with comments that appear to be "politically determined" in a careful and serious analysis.
It should be noted that this article is the product of the sole writer: as always in the past, I did not look for or accept "feed back". So, if I have made mistakes and if I get bored, you will have to forgive me.
I state that I intend to confirm what was written previously: I have not made a personal opinion on the work and political action of Minister Elisabetta Trenta on specific issues, therefore, I will limit myself to reporting the opinions of others. I only believe that this attempt, by real or pretended sympathizers, to "prop up" and "ballast" it in the face of the (modest) danger of a storm of motivated criticism derives only from the fact that the owner of the ministry of Palazzo Baracchini is, so to speak a little "leggerina" from the political point of view. And this is the only personal judgment I reserve to express.
The ministry of defense, heir to the ministry of war, is one of the oldest political institutions not only in Italy, but in general in all the most politically advanced countries. Internal and police affairs, defense (or war), the treasury (or the budget), justice and foreign affairs are the tasks of the established power, which the prince entrusted to trusted people with whom he had gained power. and with whom he shared honors and charges. With the modern state, the Prince's "advisers" become bureaucratic structures that act as a filter and manage specific interests and problems. The prestige of the Ministry of War / Defense remains very high and in Italy it is entrusted to names such as Manfredo Fanti, Bettino Ricasoli, Luigi Pelloux, Ivanoe Bonomi and Armando Diaz in the Savoy period and Paolo Emilio Taviani, Antonio Segni, Giulio Andreotti, Arnaldo Forlani and Giovanni Spadolini in the so-called First Republic. In short, it is a training ground for future prime ministers to be tested with a "weight" assignment after previous very convincing experiences or is the prize for a successful career for civilians and military, still too influential to become lazy as senators of the Kingdom or senators for life . And this not only in Italy: in federal Germany the ministry went to dowry to leaders of the caliber of Franz Josef Strauss, Helmut Schmidt, Manfred Wörner, Gerhard Stoltenberg, Rudolf Scharping and, recently, to Angela Merkel's dolphin candidate, Karl- Theodor zu Guttenberg, who from that place burned his career for a bachelor thesis.
In short, to be a Minister of Defense it is not enough to have done military service, nor to have participated in international missions. It does not hold the story that one is valid because "he is an expert", because not all surgeons are good health managers, let alone good health ministers. Nor is a great university lecturer necessarily a worthy minister of education: the ambition to do well to launch into higher positions - without having to learn the trade on the spot - or the intention to spend a long political experience and a valid network even in old age in tasks useful to the security of the country count more than academic titles or in newspapers. No school teaches you to manage public affairs from the highest school, otherwise we would all be enrolled in this academy for ministers and secretaries of state.
Minister Elisabetta Trenta was "offered" to public opinion by raising the price because she was "expert", without actually having a wealth of political experience at level, nor a truly spendable international network, let alone a previous "test" at the top. Nor was she "supported" by a "heavy" politician as undersecretary. When a graduate in agriculture is placed in the environment or a "professorone" at Culture, one does not necessarily have to do with the good of the country, relying on an "expert", but at least "limiting the damage", because the ministries in question are not decisive for the very survival of the Nation and its institutions; conversely, it makes little sense to entrust the driving of a truck to someone who is learning to drive a car, even if he is a good connoisseur of heavy transport vehicles.
Elisabetta Trenta will certainly have a great future in politics - the Grillino support can be explained as proof of trust and perhaps this trust is also deserved - and in the academic world, however, I do not feel like recognizing them as the only merits, being "human" and "expert", on which his fans aim, as sufficient justifications to completely cover the criticisms - so many, strong and circumstantial - that we have received.
Minister Thirty - which we often see active in comments on social media linked to Online Defense (v. image) - has suffered a real collapse of image and support, perhaps even beyond that of the entire Five Star Movement in Italy: they are not just "generalons" who complain, but the bulk of those who live in and around the armed forces, for what I have been given to understand these days. Forgiveness for frankness, but to make the position of Minister Trenta even more "evanescent", the positions, shared or not, in foreign policy and on the military questions of the base and the ruling class of the Five Star Movement contribute not a little to the way in which have been managed - under the pressure of the "grillini" - the dossier of arms, cyber security, Venezuela, Libya, EU and China, we will pay the consequences for years ... In any case, without boring beyond the reader, I am going to report here of followed all your comments, leaving behind those, so to speak, "apparently addressed", on which everyone can make his own judgment.
To understand each other, this is the first comment I received and it is not even the hardest.
The defense must only hope for a forthcoming and rapid fall of this minister and possibly even Di Maio. Neither is certainly a staple for programs and future investments.
In Di Maio, without naming him, someone recognizes at least the young age attenuator:
The lady had left well deluding the progressives and calming the conservatives with her "kinship" with the military. Now, however, the contradictions between the political component he represents and his personal considerations are all too well known, I cannot say if he is in bad faith or if he is simply ignorant, a historical ignorance linked to the armed forces unacceptable for his role as minister. She may be ill-advised, but she is the right age to understand what she does. Wanting to be good and give her a score, I'd give her just enough.
Pinotti's shadow ...
I believe it is bound by the ideological prejudices of your party in carrying out the task of Minister of Defense. He always hides behind the "duality" as if he had made an extraordinary discovery about the use of vehicles and men on calamitous occasions. A woman who would like to demonstrate skills she doesn't have: like Mogherini.
As also mentioned by the writer, it is not easy to evaluate the Minister Trenta, who works with a world behind all that she manages.
Surely the CV of the Trenta is one of the most "thick" in relation to your ministry and in comparison to that of your predecessors. Having said that, it is also true that you are part of a government that, especially from the "yellow" side, has never made any secret of your aversion to the "World of Defense" intended as one (of the many they say) Strong Powers from which defend ourselves. I imagine that, precisely on the basis of this situation, Minister Trenta is holding one of the lowest profiles ever seen ... we never talk about the F35 ... the next launch of the LHD Trieste is not highlighted ... speak in short. It is also difficult to express an evaluation because we have no data, that is, official results and decisions. Of course it is also true that the 2020 Defense Budget seems to be a "dark shot". And not the first, actually.
There is no lack of those who barely hide a profound bitterness, in the face of a great love for the armed forces.
What to say except that we are really scraping the bottom (even if we have been saying it for several years)? I imagine the feeling of those who wear a uniform nowadays and it is enough to read the warning signs that have passed in the media: from the "early" abandonment of the uniform also of elements of the special forces, to the little motivation of the new recruits, to the proclaims 5 fewer rifles to invest in humanitarian projects, at the "inclusive" parade of 2 June; in short, all signs that for those who still BELIEVE in certain IDEALS and VALUES must be really extreme violence every morning as soon as they open their eyes to wear the uniform. However, you have my highest respect! Given the general dismantling that the defense sector is undergoing, I would propose to the next foreign missions to send the ONLUS "brigade" and all its colored nuances, armed with only flowers and chalks because surely they will know how best to stem the violence of the medieval and trivial cultures present especially in different operating theaters. All the more reason I would like to thank you heartily, who wakes up every morning and wears his uniform with honor!
Personal considerations of a reader, which the writer reports in summary because of the length.
A judgment on what has been done or not done by the Minister does not make much sense in Italy. The problem is much more profound and concerns the relationship between Powers, in this case the Political Power versus Military Power. In this nation the "uniform" has always been "badly" endured badly by the Political Power. It was during the Cold War where the discipline imposed by the American Big Brother has always mitigated the intolerance of Italian politics for the military world and now, without that discipline anymore, the judgments and the attention for the "uniform" are much more explicit not so much in words, always hypocritical, as in facts. Whoever presides over the Ministry of Defense, always receives the usual task: to monitor, control and spend as little as possible. Ensure that a Condottiere does not arise, check that the military instrument does not become a competitor and obviously spend as little as possible.
Almost an open letter to the Minister of Defense:
"Once upon a time there was a "maternal" Minister of Defense who everyone liked ... ", I would add, but who? And above all why? Perhaps our military have become "mammoni" and need sweet words to not feel the weight of the uniform they are wearing? A "maternal" minister, whose role is only to spend words of praise in the parades aimed at highlighting a pacifist and romantic role of the Armed Forces, has no use. A true defense minister is someone who, having knowledge of the real role of the Armed Forces, does not censor military actions. A true defense minister is one who, aware of the new threats deriving from a changed international and geopolitical context, is concerned with investing adequate resources to ensure the maximum efficiency and flexibility of the state's war machine (in the broadest sense of the term). With “blunt” weapons and with a not far-sighted and compliant minister, how can we defend the homeland and national interests across the border?
Not only criticism of the minister, of course:
But all these retired generals where were they before Dr. Trenta became Minister of Defense? Thinking badly makes you sin but sometimes .....
We have never had a prejudice against Elisabetta Trenta: this reader, indeed, considers us too benevolent ...
I find it hard to understand the initial credit opening of your magazine against the lady in question. Day after day, she managed to make us regret the (already negative) experience of Pinotti: her latest boutade about "inclusive parades" and support for the painful initiative of Avv. Conte regarding the 5 rifles sacrificed on the altar of pacifism, they return the image of a haughty housewife stiffened in her uniform as a soldier of the Reserve but lacking any competence and even lavish with reproaches and warnings against those soldiers who should defend a drawn sword. Academically trained with the sophisms of international legalism, the lady has diligently kept the FFAA on the same track as the previous Left Governments, cutting funds for R&D programs, exalting the concept of "dual use" (a term that appeals to those who swore to serve the Patria in arms, for example, to the garbage collection) or limiting itself to introducing innovations related to unionism. Are we really sure that the Defense needs such initiatives? Or is the lady the material executor to whom the disarmament of the Italian defense system in material and cultural terms has been delegated? I trust that next Sunday's election will allow a redefinition of the government structure, perhaps letting the breasted Reserve Captain (...) return to discuss "international law" and "humanitarian emergencies" from his living room, not from his desk of a Ministry that has every right to claim other resources and projects.
Who is Elizabeth? For someone a special person ...
Minister Trenta is a special person (…), clean and sincere, competent, courageous and intelligent. Suffice it to look at the enormous activity to be carried out by the Minister of Defense to defend the national interests and the image of Italy, as well as what she has done to protect the work, interests and honor of our soldiers. On some issues related to the control of the coasts and blocking of migratory flows I disagreed with Minister Trenta but despite this I know the intellectual honesty, character and sincerity that characterize it. I do not intend to list here the many activities carried out by the Minister of Defense because it is enough to search for them on the web. I therefore believe that the attacks are not only unfair, but also instrumental and turbid. I therefore reiterate my esteem, my moral support and my respect for Minister Elisabetta Trenta, wishing her to continue her work with commitment as done up to now in defense of Italy.
... for others a "populist mother" who abandoned her "military-children"!
I would like to draw attention to the answer given by min. Of the Defense regarding the low turnout in the army competitions, diverting from wanting to solve the real problems by justifying itself with the fact that the recruitment center in Foligno is the real reason as it is inconvenient to reach ... The reasons are quite different! Equating salaries to carabinieri / police / finance! From the point of view of representation with the various unions (with their hands tied anyway) what changes? Divide and reign this they did! Furthermore, I underline that for more than 20 years the marshals of the new process have not been represented by any figure belonging to their process, in fact the reorders have never safeguarded these figures. After President Conte's comment on the renunciation of 5 rifles and supported by Minister Trenta (symbolic gesture), it is understandable how you do not feel the military as your "children", I would have expected you to ask for an apology for the message that the pres. Conte launched the whole of Italy by giving a false stereotype of us Italian soldiers. What not done, among other things, when a group of "pseudo partisans" sang beautiful hello during the silence. In a nutshell: I do not feel represented and protected by this populist minister.
The next comment comes from the past of the minister: in order not to reveal the identity of this reader, I must censor a part of the letter.
I have personally met the Minister… and I can only say positive words addressed to Captain Trenta. As a Minister I must say that he has made some decisions that I do not agree with very much:
1 - I believe that military unions distort the figure of the military.
2- I did not like the departure of the Prime Minister who put his work in a bad light.
3- I very much appreciated your initiatives aimed at clarifying and reducing the distance with the base.
4 - I have not yet very clear the dual-use project .... I believe that there are no need for labels the Armed Forces have always been dual use and have always given their contribution to the life of our country always bringing with them the humanity and the concreteness that distinguishes us.
I think it is difficult to judge you as a minister yet there are too many problems to be solved and the situation of the government is certainly not the best condition to be able to carry out ambitious projects. But I am confident that he will be able to show his respect for the Armed Forces and our homeland ...
I have hidden the name of a high official praised with just passion, out of respect for the person concerned.
I believed in the figure of the Thirty, as a person who - having worn the uniform - was aware of the problems of the Armed Forces…. but after the case of Gen. Riccò, the absence of stances for the increasingly tight budgets for our "heroes" and the prostration to the pacifist "ideas" of the 5S I do not think he is capable of being able to continue with this role !. .. We need a (…) who, like the great (…), who glimpsed and developed that famous white paper to (…) re-emerge on the Mediterranean without worries. It should be done for all Armed Forces.
This is a letter that seemed sincere to us in favor of the minister-mother who just cannot evaluate either in a positive or negative sense ...
Try to make a comparison with his predecessors, detached and cold, while she is cordial and a little mother: to enter into the merits, do you need to live in close contact with the Minister to have full knowledge of everything and in detail? Obviously, my concept expressed is valid in the round, applies to everyone: you can not point the finger if you do not have knowledge, too easy to raise to judge without having the basics and, let me say, it is just out of place that "to think wrong is done before ".
Conversely, for some the work of the Trenta must really be judged. Indeed, according to this reader, the criticisms he has received so far are even too soft!
Minister Trenta is perfect in function of the aims he pursues with his political side: demilitarization of the Armed Forces and their transformation into a unionized and politically obsequious salary. Outside this perspective, a deleterious page for FF.AA. and Nation. In an industry where repairing damage is much longer than causing it. What I find most sickening, allow me the strong word, is the vile silence of military leaders.
It is appropriate to say that in less than eight months it has fallen from the stars to the stables ...
Let us return to the pupil Elisabetta, who made her debut with a nice 30, given her confidence in the valuable curriculum, about knowing how to handle the thorny issue F-35 and about maintaining Muos. Departures on the right foot together with a "human" eye towards the military as people rather than numbers. Resolving the depleted uranium political horse, I thought it was an electronic countermeasure and it stank, but I turned a blind eye. Unfortunately, the school year is long and consists of many tests and verifications. Beyond words, parades, good intentions and wheelchairs, the defense cuts have tragically been confirmed. Unionization with its "pros" and several, too many "cons" has been going on. The uranium question remains the point and heads (strange, right?). And the social policies stuck to force even where there are nothing to do, are punctually arrived. To demand epochal changes in a year would be foolish, but not to see positive signs and to confirm fears, indicates a decidedly negative trend. I would give her a poor 15, because she is perfectly aligned with all the other pitiful amateur ministers and would not look out of place for this, but with her resume, she has no excuse, and with a certain bitterness I give her an 9 (on 30).
And if it is not the fall of a star we lack a little.
All right ... I admit it !!! When Elisabetta Trenta was named defense minister, I breathed a sigh of relief, finally after years of sitting in the Via XX Settembre chair not even entering the toto ministers here is what looked like the right classic woman in the right place !!! Ms. Trenta promised herself to be a mix between the former Corcione and Andreatta but much smarter! Instead ... I mentioned something in this column about "revolution in civil affairs" and I hoped that Mrs Trenta could be the spring that would have made defense in Italy no longer a kind of necessary evil but a source of pride. You pass the shameful story of the 5 rifles sold (I want to see what would have happened if they had removed the guns of five policemen) or other similar amenities but what really seals its failure is the new dimension of dual use that has now reached the pathetic. I understand Ms. Trenta, and let me take on the thankless task: Trieste ship is an aircraft carrier and serves mainly to make war. Amen
Finally, in conclusion, the beautiful and constructive words of a reader:
The Thirty's criticisms of some retired generals demonstrate their affection and nostalgia for the FFAAs they have served for years. Everyone is free to express their thoughts and it is in this spirit of loyal participation that institutional improvement can and must be born.
With feelings of affection for the armed forces in my heart, I give the floor to those who have declared themselves fans of the minister and his political party.
Whoever wears a uniform can only express his appreciation for the work done to date by the Ministry of Defense in general and by Minister Trenta in particular. The reason is very simple: today why the soldier is placed at the center of the system and this government has demonstrated this by addressing and solving problems of long-standing memory. In just 10 months the results are many and undeniable and no exploitation can cloud them. Just by way of example I want to recall some important measures, such as: having made the list of military auxiliaries available to the provinces for the use of such personnel in other state administrations, obtaining the dual purpose of rendering a service to the community and to bring the military component closer to citizenship; measures in favor of family reunification, the policy aimed at relocating the barracks to the south in harmony with the geography of the personnel; the opening of the veterans center; finally, a sacrosanct principle has finally been established and that is that in the event of a pathology contracted in service, it is the Defense, possibly, that will have to demonstrate the lack of causal link between the pathology and the service provided and not the other way around. Thank you Minister.
I will be short and concise, I don't know if original, cmq, in my opinion Minister Trenta is implementing, especially as regards the "dual use systemic", what I personally would have done in his place! I do not know if this is objective, but the evolution of the armed forces, especially in this very critical phase of our country, must contribute to the competition for the fastest overcoming of this organizational "crisis" of our strategic vision.
The Minister represents the positive change that Italy is extremely in need of and demonstrates it everywhere; like all the other 5 Star Ministers. Too bad that few of us know it !!!!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
On television you almost never hear of the Minister's activity, as if the activity of the defense ministry was relegated to a mere representation of the police or to the management of the "wars" still underway both in Italy and between Italy and Europe and also between Italy and Eastern or African countries (…). The minister is working for the possible resolution of many problems, in the legality and transparency that characterizes the 5-star movement, essentially based on collaboration with other states (...) in synergy with all institutional bodies. For this reason, it has been able to identify the need for innovation, culture and research as well as intellectual strategy in the field of defense of borders and citizens, both Italian and European, not only physical but in the field of human rights. It is interacting through agreements in order to solve in a rational and serious way the question of immigration, which now seems erroneously to have become the most important "problem" of politics, integration, research and environmental protection, both at source and from cultural point of view, which also looking for a collaboration with Europe, which by some political figures is sometimes seen as an opponent rather than a friend. He understood that defense is absolutely not "attack" and prevarication (...) I agree with Minister Trenta that (...) collaboration is certainly the right way for a civilized and cultured country like Italy, which she knew in the post-war poverty and the need to emigrate, therefore, well understand that a landing cannot be prevented to solve the problem of migration, which must instead be solved by exporting, and not "closing" our culture (...) The Ministry of Defense is acting through our esteemed representative to move towards a "defense" based on innovation, research and culture (…).
W la Thirty
Minister Elisabetta Trenta is a woman who immediately demolished the wall that divided the base of the Armed Forces with the highest offices in the state. Very attentive to the well-being and health of all staff with the Stellette. Immediately he did his utmost to resolve the environmental issue such as the Ecobales remained in the site of the Serre-Persano military district since 2008 with the waste emergency in Campania in the government we had Berlusconi. In fact, this scandalous situation has finally entered the plan to remove them in the next two years.
I believe that Minister Trenta still continues in many to "be the Minister mother" which is good for us all. It certainly plays a role of absolute importance for the good of our country and a guide like yours has been missing for many years now.
My opinion on Minister Trenta is positive because you ended up having a practical and concrete approach, not an ideological one. On every issue she has dealt with (and there has been a lot of criticism) we can see that she has always informed herself first and has read a lot about the case. And only afterwards did he make choices and positions, which were not necessarily ideological or stable, but rather those dictated by competence and common sense. Furthermore, the minister acted in a difficult context. Because it has had to win the respect both of some circles of the Armed Forces, still reluctant to accept the idea of being commanded by a woman, and of some popular government minister colleague, who for exuberance has sometimes tried to interfere in some competences of the Ministry of Defense. Finally, the Trenta did what to date no Defense Minister had ever done. He gave a public image of a defense minister who was very close to people and sensitive to human aspects. This happened repeatedly when he was informally seen near the soldiers of the military, especially those on distant and dangerous missions.
Minister Elisabetta Trenta enjoys my esteem as a woman and a great professional. I have no words to describe an extraordinary woman, honest, loyal, humble and above all close to the military people. Congratulations Minister.
It is absolutely the best! She is upright, prepared and is the best person to guide the defense ministry. Maybe a fifth of the politicians were like this: we would live in a better Italy!
Minister Trenta (...) represents the different perspective of the use of (...) an inclusive force in civil society and with this participant and participant, managerial and oriented to the welfare of workers as the best managing director. This different "vision" in an organizational-strategic sense makes the defense costs justifiable to me and to many other "civilians" who pay taxes by financing them, since these are no longer destined to "toys" to keep the generalons happy. Let's not hide behind a finger: the whole of today's camarilla on Minister Trenta is the reaction of attrition to this cultural upheaval on the part of those who have focused their lives on the shape even at the expense of the substance, on the prerogatives of the degree including a presumed infallibility, on the sill and on the thickness of the cord on the visor (go back through the photos from the birth of the Republic and you will see over the years the swelling of the cord on the visor up to the current ridiculous hawser: on whose meaning Freud would go to wedding!) rather than on the "value added "that the cost of their salaries - with costly annexes and associated costs - would have contributed to the company-Italy according to Porter's best teaching.
Good morning ... I am Nicola lgt Arma CC retired and I am writing to evaluate both the person and the work of the Minister of Defense Elisabetta Trenta. First of all, Elisabetta is a well-mannered person, cultured and of vast experience both for assignments received and for private life lived; he is a person who evaluates actions and situations before taking any decisions or putting in place procedures that, given his / her role, involve a large number of people and can substantially change state structures. He is a determined and firm person and does not allow himself to be influenced or overtaken by anyone, assuming full responsibility for the decisions taken. As for the work well, in these few months he has done many things ... from f35 contracts to unions in the FFAA and all without vainglory or publicity progress; he works to work for his job and not for personal vainglory. Rating ... Excellent !!!
We can only say that this minister remains UNIQUE. of course there are many issues to be addressed but from belonging to the armed forces I can guarantee you that it is touching on unique themes. Uranium, reunions, worker protection, trade unions etc ... Italy is dreaming of such a minister.
Finally, an exchange of words with two "fans":
Why has such an initiative never been made for all the ministers of previous governments?
Very simply, the address book did not exist. However, the Online Defense editorial staff has never missed an opportunity to express critical positions and indicate errors. Not only that: he also gave - with professionalism - a voice to Dr. Trenta when she was still only a candidate (more).
You should explain the reason for this survey: do you just want to endorse your position?
No, the word went to everyone, really everyone. The minister has 51 years and a whole political, academic and professional future ahead of her: I have only committed, on a voluntary basis and without belonging either to political parties or associations, to gather the opinions of readers, without wanting to disturb the navigation of the Thirty. The positions of those who read us, even if not shared, always deserve our respect. My judgment, expressed at the beginning, was of opportunity and not of merit. If the minister wants to have his say, on social media or directly, he will be welcome.
Photo: Ministry of Defense
