Giorgia Meloni’s offensive against public broadcasting – Technologist

It’s as if nothing has changed. On set, 80-year-old Bruno Vespa, who has dedicated 62 years to Italian public broadcasting, is the master of his kingdom. To the host’s left were guests from the right wing and to his right, were guests from the left wing and center.

The flagship program of RAI (Radiotelevisione italiana), Porta a Porta (“Door to Door”), is broadcast in the second half of the evening from Tuesday to Thursday and is watched by more than 400,000 people. It has been known since 1996 as the “third chamber of Parliament.” On the day after the European elections on June 9, the show discussed the victory of far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, portraying her now as an essential leader.

Vespa is a prominent figure on Italian television, known for his distinctive features and ability to maintain his position through political changes. He has connections with various influential figures in Rome and can easily reach out to ministers, show-business personalities, businessmen and cardinals.

He has been able to deal with the current government, just as he did with previous ones. Meanwhile, other prominent figures chose to leave their positions when there were allegations of the far-right gaining control of RAI.

Transformed into a battlefield

On set, after some 40 minutes of recording, there was talk of the dissolution of France’s Assemblée Nationale. A screenshot of Le Monde’s website appeared in the background. Vespa took the opportunity to change the subject: “A colleague from Le Monde is with us this evening. He has come to see what RAI is like under Meloni, because there are some worrying rumors. And we’ve tried to put his mind at rest, because we’re not seeing the specter of censorship. You, would you talk about an authoritarian government?” he ironically said to his guest Giovanni Donzelli, a member of parliament and high-ranking executive of Fratelli d’Italia, Meloni’s party, who punctuated the host’s speech with amused little sounds.

Donzelli refuted claims of censorship, attributing Le Monde’s inquiries to the opposition’s focus on “speaking ill of Italy abroad.” Chiara Braga from the Democratic Party recalled RAI’s decision to cancel a statement by writer Antonio Scurati, who had criticized Meloni for refusing to call herself an anti-fascist. Vespa started speaking again. In his opinion, Scurati should have been confronted by a right-wing intellectual. Braga asked him whether the anti-fascist legacy was exclusively associated with left-wing ideology. Vespa alleged that the writer’s critique of Meloni was veiled as republican teachings. The discussion became heated, and Donzelli had the final say, accusing his rival of falsely claiming to uphold democratic principles.

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