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POLITICS

Italy’s Salvini hopes France will get rid of ‘terrible’ Macron

As the French government finds itself in a precarious situation, Italy’s populists continue to stick the boot in.

Published: 23 January 2019 12:33 CET
Italy's Salvini hopes France will get rid of 'terrible' Macron
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

In the latest in a series of incendiary comments aimed at maligned centrist French president Emmanuel Macron, Italy's far-right Interior Minister worsened already strained relations between Rome and Paris by saying he hoped the French could soon free themselves of their “terrible president.”

“The opportunity will come on May 26 (the European elections) when finally the French people will be able to take back control of its future, destiny, (and) pride, which are poorly represented by a character like Macron”, Matteo Salvini said in his latest Facebook video taunting the government across the Alps.

Salvini, who is also deputy prime minister, said he felt “close, with all my heart… to the French people, the millions of men and women who live in France under a terrible government and terrible president.”

READ ALSO: Italy accuses France of trying to dump underage migrants over the border

The French government is weakened after facing an outpouring of public anger in the gilets jaunes(Yellow Vests) protests that began in November, initially as a response to a fuel tax increase.

Thousands of rioters have been arrested in ten consecutive weekends of violence and unrest.

Italy’s populist leaders have publicly cheered on the protesters.

The fresh attack on Macron, who signed a new friendship treaty with Germany on Tuesday, was just the latest in a barrage of taunts and criticisms coming from Italy’s government this week.

On Monday, Salvini blamed French oil interests in Libya for Paris’ alleged lack of interest in “stabilising the situation” there.

And Italy’s ambassador was summoned by the French government yesterday in protest after Italy’s other deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio blamed France for impoverishing Africa and accused the country of continuing to “colonise” African nations.

The Five Star Movement (M5S) leader reportedly said on Sunday: “In order to keep the Africans in Africa, it would be enough for the French to stay at home.”

Relations between the two capitals, usually close EU allies, have deteriorated sharply since the M5S-League coalition became the European Union's first populist-only government in June last year.

Italy's far-right populist League (formerly the Northern League) is a close European ally of France's National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, formerly the National Front which, like Salvini's party, changed its name early last year in attempt to shake off its reputation for racism.

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POLITICS

How much control does Giorgia Meloni’s government have over Italian media?

There's been renewed debate over the state of press freedom in Italy following warnings that Meloni's administration is seeking "control" of Italy's media. But what's behind these reports?

Published: 9 April 2024 13:13 CEST
How much control does Giorgia Meloni's government have over Italian media?

Press freedom is at the centre of fresh debate in Italy this week after Spanish newspaper El País on Saturday published an article titled “Meloni wants all the media power in Italy.”

The report, which was picked up by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, suggests that the Italian prime minister and her right-wing executive is looking to “monopolise” national print and broadcast outlets

It follows reports in English-language media recently describing how Meloni is accused of trying to stamp her authority on Italian arts and media in what critics call a “purge” of dissenting voices.

Meloni and members of her administration have long faced accusations of trying to silence journalists and intimidate detractors. Media organisations say this often takes the form of high-profile politicians bringing lawsuits against individual journalists, and cite the defamation case brought by Meloni against anti-mafia reporter Roberto Saviano in 2023 as a prime example.

READ ALSO: Six things to know about the state of press freedom in Italy

Discussions over media independence aren’t new in Italy, as the country has consistently ranked poorly in the annual Press Freedom reports by Reporters without Borders in recent years. Italy came in 41st out of 180 in the 2023 ranking, which made it the worst country in western Europe for press freedom.

But what’s behind the recent allegations that the government is trying to exert a more direct influence?

Meloni, Porta a Porta

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Italian national TV show Porta a Porta in Rome on April 4th 2024. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

National television

The article from El País accuses Meloni’s cabinet of effectively controlling Italy’s two biggest national broadcasters: state-owned RAI and commercial broadcaster Mediaset.

While Mediaset and its three main channels (Rete 4, Canale 5 and Italia 1) have long been seen as ‘loyal’ to Meloni’s executive – the network was founded by the late Silvio Berlusconi, whose Forza Italia party continues to be a key member of the ruling coalition – the government’s ties with public broadcaster RAI are more complex.

Unlike state-owned broadcasters in other European countries, RAI is not controlled by a regulatory body but rather by the government itself, which means that the network has always been particularly susceptible to political influences. 

But Meloni’s cabinet is accused of exerting unprecedented power over the broadcaster following the replacement of former top executives with figures considered closer to the government.

Salvini, RAI

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini speaks with Italian journalist Bruno Vespa during the talk show Porta a Porta, broadcast on Italian channel Rai 1. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

Last May, Carlo Fuortes resigned as RAI’s CEO saying that he couldn’t possibly “accept changes opposed to RAI’s interests”. He was replaced by centrist Roberto Sergio, who in turn appointed Giampaolo Rossi – a “loyalist” of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party – as the network’s general director. 

Sergio and Rossi’s appointment was closely followed by a general management reshuffle which saw figures close to the government occupy key positions within the company. This led to critics and journalists dubbing the network ‘TeleMeloni’.

Print media 

Besides concerns over its sway on Italy’s main broadcast networks, Meloni’s executive is currently under heavy scrutiny following the rumoured takeover of Italy’s AGI news agency by the right-wing Angelucci publishing group. 

The group is headed by Antonio Angelucci, an MP for Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s hard-right League party, and owner of three right-wing newspapers: Il Giornale, Libero and Il Tempo.

News of the potential takeover from Angelucci sparked a series of strikes and demonstrations from the news agency’s journalists in recent weeks, with reporters raising concerns over the independence and autonomy of journalists in the event of an ownership change.

The leader of the centre-left Democratic Party Elly Schlein weighed in on the matter last week, saying that the sale of Italy’s second-largest news agency to a ruling coalition MP would be “inadmissible”.

Further debate over press freedom in the country emerged in early March after three journalists from the left-wing Domani newspaper were accused of illegally accessing and publishing private data regarding a number of high-profile people, including Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s girlfriend. 

The newspaper has so far condemned the investigation, saying it is “a warning to Domani and all journalists” and a further threat to media independence in a country ranked amongst the worst in Europe for press freedom.

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