Suspended army general to run in EU election

Army general Roberto Vannacci, who was suspended from duty and placed under investigation last February for allegedly inciting racial hatred in his bestselling book The World Backwards, told Ansa on Thursday he will be a candidate for Italy’s populist League party in June’s European election. 

Vannacci said he will be an “independent candidate” fighting to “affirm the values of motherland, tradition, family, sovereignty and identity that I largely share with the League”.   

Deputy PM and League party leader Matteo Salvini expressed satisfaction over Vannacci’s EU election bid, saying he was “glad that a man of value like general Vannacci has chosen to continue his battles for freedom together with the League”.

In the controversial book The World Backwards (Il Mondo al Contrario), released last August, Vannacci denounces the “dictatorship of minorities”, saying that gay people are “not normal” and that the facial features of Italian black volleyball player Paola Egonu “do not represent Italianness”.

Venice mayor hails launch of new entry fee despite residents’ protests

Venice’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro on Thursday praised the launch of a long-planned entry fee for day visitors despite protests warning that the city was being put on sale.

Brugnaro said the new ticketing system was costing local finances more than it was bringing in, but called it a worthy investment as it was a “way to make people understand that we need to change” and “dilute visits to the city,” AFP reported.

Venice was the scene of protests on Thursday as residents gathered in Piazzale Roma – where the city’s main bus terminal is located – to object to the launch of the entry charge. 

Protesters were seen carrying banners reading “Venice for all, end the ticket wall” and “Welcome to Veniceland” – an ironic reference to the alleged transformation of the city into a theme park.

“This is not a museum, it’s not a protected ecological area, you shouldn’t have to pay – it’s a city,” Marina Dodino, from local residents association ARCI, told AFP.

Italy’s public TV reporters to strike over ‘suffocating’ political influence

Journalists at Italy’s state broadcaster RAI will take part in a 24-hour walkout on Monday, May 6th in protest against “the suffocating control” exerted over their work by Giorgia Meloni’s government, reporters’ trade union Usigrai said on Thursday. 

Usigrai criticised the current right-wing administration’s “attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”, also citing staff shortages and the cancellation of an agreement over performance bonuses as further reasons behind the planned strike.

Discussions over RAI’s independence aren’t new in Italy as, unlike state-owned broadcasters in other European countries, the network is not controlled by a regulatory body but rather by the government itself. 

But fresh accusations of censorship erupted last weekend after RAI cancelled the appearance of high-profile author Antonio Scurati, who planned to give an antifascist speech on one of its talk shows ahead of Italy’s Liberation Day on April 25th.