Stefania Craxi has returned to one of the most symbolic moments in modern Italian foreign policy, defending with pride the role played by her father, Bettino Craxi, during the Sigonella crisis of 1985. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, the Forza Italia senator described the episode as “a patriotic act” and even “the last act of the Italian Risorgimento”, a moment in which Italy asserted its sovereignty and defended international law under intense geopolitical pressure.

According to Craxi, her father’s actions as prime minister represented a rare and decisive act of political firmness in the face of American pressure. Her comments come in the wake of a more recent controversy, after Defence Minister Guido Crosetto reportedly denied landing authorisation at Sigonella to U.S. bombers. “The two situations are not comparable,” she said, “but I hope at least that people will stop saying the Meloni government is completely aligned with Trump.”

In recalling those dramatic days of October 1985, Craxi also offered a more intimate portrait of her father — a man she described as entirely consumed by politics, yet capable of returning to everyday life with surprising simplicity once the crisis was over. Among the anecdotes she shared was a late-night phone call from Ronald Reagan, reportedly passed through Michael Ledeen, at a time when Bettino Craxi was resting and considered the issue effectively settled. According to her account, he was less than impressed by the interruption, treating the call almost as an unnecessary disturbance.

Stefania Craxi also emphasised what she sees as the broader coherence of her father’s foreign policy vision. “Craxi was a man of the West,” she said, “a friend of Israel, but also someone who understood and supported the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.” In her view, he managed to combine Atlantic loyalty with national autonomy and a Mediterranean political sensibility - a balance she suggests remains relevant today. The common thread between the Sigonella crisis and current debates, she argues, is the need for Italy to make its sovereignty respected and to ensure that international agreements governing the U.S. military presence on Italian soil are fully observed.

For Stefania Craxi, Sigonella was not just a Cold War episode. It remains, even today, a symbol of what Italy can be when it chooses to act with independence and political clarity.