The return of Luigi Di Maio: he will be a European special envoy in the Persian Gulf

He had been given up for dead. Luigi Di Maio – defeated in the single-member election, with a party that had obtained less than 1% -, after failure in the last general elections and the exit from Parliament, had been mockingly attacked on social media: «We are heading towards Di Maio, recipient of the basic income», «The employment office is waiting for you, Gigi», and again: «Giggino towards a return to selling drinks at the San Paolo». And «Giggino» was a trending topic on Twitter. Enough to push the former foreign minister to close (or at least obscure) his institutional Facebook page with 2.4 million followers.

But here, now, Luigi Di Maio could return to the scene with a prestigious assignment: that of European special envoy to the Persian Gulf, mediator of crises affecting that geographical area. The panel of independent technicians, which has received a mandate from the European Union to select the most suitable figure, has indicated the former Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio as «best» in the quadruplet of candidates (which also includes the Cypriot Markos Kyprianou, the former UN envoy in Libya Jan Kubis and the former Foreign Minister and EU Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos). In the document notified by the panel of technicians to the offices of the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, it is written that «on the basis of the services» provided «by the candidates, it is recommended to appoint Mr. Luigi Di Maio» as special envoy of the EU in the Gulf.

The recommendation is the result of a series of interviews and interviews with the aim of establishing the qualities of the individual candidates. But it is not yet an official appointment, which belongs instead to Josep Borrell. Meanwhile, Forza Italia Senator Maurizio Gasparri contest any assignment: according to him, Luigi Di Maio “has been at the center of numerous controversies in recent years” and does not have “any relevant political or professional career” in his curriculum vitae.