aaccording to latest Press freedom audit by Reporters Without Borders, Italy has fallen significantly in the international rankings. A key element in the report was Giorgia Meloni’s radical right government’s desire to sell the state news agency to a media mogul. That influential figure in the media world happened to be a member of parliament from the ruling coalition. But there are many other reasons to be concerned about the future of freedom of expression and media impartiality as Meloni’s radical right coalition tightens its grip on power in one of the European Union’s most important member states. .
This week, a philosopher from Rome’s Sapienza University becomes the latest public intellectual to appear in court after being accused of defamation by a government official. Donatella di Cesare said on a talk show that the language of Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida (Mr Meloni’s brother-in-law) was neo-Nazi-like. Under Italy’s strict defamation laws, she risks a significant prison sentence if ultimately found guilty in a criminal court.
Mr. Di Cesare is by no means an isolated case. Meloni herself is pursuing an aggravated defamation lawsuit against the 81-year-old historian for similar reasons. She also took author and journalist Roberto Saviano to court and sued journalists from the left-wing newspaper Domani.
The video was also dark during the broadcast. Control of state broadcaster Rai has been seen as a political prize for the next government for decades. But Meloni’s government appears to be ruthlessly abusing its new powers. The corporation’s director general, Giampaolo Rossi, is a close ally of Meloni, an admirer of Viktor Orban and a former apologist of Vladimir Putin.
A year after he took office, internal strife surfaced. Furious journalists launched a series of strikes last week, partly over working conditions but also in response to allegations of editorial interference and pressure from Mr. Meloni’s government and its temporary staff. Senior political reporter Enrica Agostini said at a press conference. Said In her 25 years in Rye, she said she had “never experienced as much pressure and censorship as I do now”. Meanwhile, in April, Antonio Scurati, one of Italy’s leading writers, accused Lai of censorship after his invitation to give an anti-fascist lecture commemorating Italy’s Liberation Day was withdrawn at the last minute. denounced.
Meloni is high Respect To Mr. Orbán, the self-proclaimed champion of “.illiberal democracy” is well known. Since her appointment 18 months ago, she has carved out a reassuring position in Europe’s political mainstream on issues such as Ukraine, unlike the Hungarian prime minister. But at home, her government’s overbearing determination to police the public square and bully its critics comes directly from Orbán’s strategy.Museums and other cultural facilities as well. became the target inappropriate and sometimes aggressive pressure from governments;
Mr. Skrati went from being a bystander to international fame through his 2018 novel M: Son of the Century, based on the rise of Benito Mussolini. but, interview After Meloni’s Italian Brothers party won the 2022 election, he distinguished between 20th century fascism and the modern radical right, saying: 1715536143 The issue is not the survival of democracy, but the quality of democracy. ” It was a far-sighted decision, as his own recent experience underlines.
