The head of the public broadcaster RAI recently resigned in Italy. This was preceded by political wrangling over his office and the orientation of the station. He is now to be succeeded by a confidant of the right-wing Prime Minister Meloni.
Viale Mazzini in the Roman district of Prati stands for RAI, this is where the public broadcaster has its historical headquarters. Renovation work is currently underway, the influential grande dame is being given a modern coat of paint. Even within the walls, no stone is left unturned, the boss has been replaced.
For the President of the Italian journalists’ union FNSI, Vittorio Di Trapani, an unnecessary change: “The bad thing that is happening in Italy is that this change is taking place in the middle of the CEO’s term of office. It is not justified and it cannot be explained for any business reasons The move was only announced because the government has changed and because they want to pretend it’s normal for the public sector CEO to change with it.”
dependent on the government
In fact, the Ministry of Economy and Finance holds 99.5 percent of RAI. In the past, it had already been customary to exchange staff. For years, the RAI stations were divided according to party proportional representation, but at the beginning of 2016 a reform by the Renzi government came into force. This made RAI less dependent on parliament and the parties, but all the more dependent on the government.
CEO Carlo Fuortes gave up last week. In a letter to the responsible Ministry of Finance, he justified his resignation: “Since the beginning of 2023, a political dispute has broken out about my position and my person, which is contributing to the weakening of RAI and the public service.”
In the crossfire of criticism
Soon after the right-wing government took office, the influential RAI’s bickering over its program and direction began. In February, for example, one cabinet member after the other got excited about some appearances at the San Remo hit festival, the event of the year. CEO Fuortes was increasingly caught in the crossfire of criticism.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, however, denied any influence: “Fuortes made the decision to resign alone. Nobody forced him. I don’t know anything about the fact that he was pressured.”
But as opposition leader, shortly before the election, Meloni had lodged a complaint with the media supervisory authority against Fuortes. In her opinion, the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy was allowed to criticize the Italian right too harshly. As head of government, Meloni uses a trick to offer the unloved a prestigious post in Naples, according to Trapani.
It was necessary for the government to vacate the post of CEO of RAI. To this end, she released the position of director of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples by decree. The decree is a tool that the government can use in emergencies or urgent cases.
Meloni confidant to become RAI boss
But there was no emergency at all. The RAI will lead a tandem in the future, in addition to Roberto Sergio, Giampaolo Rossi in particular will be the strong man, a confidant of Melonis.
As a representative of the journalists in Italy, Trapani is very worried because the usual exchange of personnel has never taken place so openly. “The government makes no secret of the fact that this is being done with the aim of changing the country’s narrative,” says Trapani. And that’s the dangerous thing about it. “The government wants to change the leadership of the civil service in order to change the country’s narrative, obviously to bring it closer to the government’s thinking,” he adds.
But that would destroy an important piece of democracy. In Italy – a founding country of the European Union.