Europe Armed for Peace an Oxymoron in Rome
Europe Armed for Peace: An Oxymoron in Piazza del Popolo
Rome, March 15, 2025 – Today, Piazza del Popolo, is a parade of paradoxes. Thousands of souls gathered, wielding with contradictory grace the flags of peace and the star-studded banners of the European Union, answering the call of Michele Serra, the melancholic bard of a generation that once dreamed of barricades and now seems to fantasize about a well-equipped resistance.
It’s the perfect short circuit: pacifists who, without the slightest hint of embarrassment, call for a more armed Europe.
The intent was crystal clear, at least in theory: a celebration of a united Europe, a chorus of voices spanning from veterans of the intellectual left to young people fueled by a vaguely warlike idealism. But the shadow of the “ReArm Europe” plan – 800 billion euros to bolster continental defense, announced by Ursula von der Leyen with statesmanlike resolve on March 4 – turned the idyll into an ethical puzzle. Rainbow flags, symbols of a disarmed utopia, danced alongside those of the EU, almost whispering: “Peace, yes, but with a well-stocked arsenal, please.” The scene in the square should give anyone dreaming of a Europe of bridges, not bunkers, more than a little food for thought.
The Dance of Names
Then there’s that name, “ReArm Europe,” a title that grates. Too brutal, too direct, almost an affront to the diplomatic finesse Brussels loves to flaunt. Critics – and there are plenty – have branded it a linguistic blunder: “It sounds like a slogan from a war movie.” They could have gone for a Newspeak translation, something like “Embrace Europe” to evoke warmth and unity (no rifles in the logo, of course), or “Empower Europe,” with its inclusive, motivational vibe. “Make Europe Great Again” would’ve been spot-on, but it’s already a registered trademark.
Discordant Voices
The square, however, didn’t settle for mere contradictory aesthetics. The PD, led by Roberto Gualtieri, delivered a eulogy for a united Europe, but the memory of Elly Schlein’s recent criticism of rearmament (“This isn’t the way,” La Stampa, March 10, 2025) lingered like an awkward echo. Paolo Gentiloni, with his usual calm, tried to mediate: “A common defense is necessary, as long as it’s measured” (ANSA, March 15, 2025). Meanwhile, Rome’s ANPI opted for absence, denouncing a Europe that prefers cannons to hospitals – an objection that holds a compelling logic.
Just steps away, in Piazza Barberini, Potere al Popolo and Rifondazione Comunista staged a more consistent counteroffensive: “No to rearmament, yes to real peace”. Their resolve is a warning, a call to a pacifism that brooks no compromise. But in Piazza del Popolo, compromise reigned supreme: Bella Ciao was sung with eyes fixed on a Europe that, under von der Leyen’s leadership, seems intent on marrying the purity of ideals with the toughness of steel.
The Ursula Enigma
At the heart of this contradiction stands Ursula von der Leyen. Her “ReArm Europe” has been met with a mix of applause and suspicion: Vannacci accuses her of authoritarianism for bypassing Parliament, while the M5S, conspicuously absent today, threatens to vote against it in Strasbourg. Yet the demonstration was a success: in Piazza del Popolo, pacifists saying yes to the arms race rediscovered themselves.
March 15, 2025, ends like this, with an image that’s both poetry and paradox: pacifists dreaming of an armed Europe, progressives flirting with military pragmatism, and Michele Serra perhaps wondering if his square hasn’t turned into an upside-down utopia. Today’s Europe is an unresolved enigma, caught between nostalgia for peace, fear of standing alone, and a will to power.
On a positive note, amid the flags and songs, no one suggested “Eternal European Peace” as a new mantra. That wasn’t a given.