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Italian state broadcaster Rai has been accused of censorship after cancelling the appearance of a writer who was set to criticise Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for allegedly failing to repudiate fascism.
Antonio Scurati, author of a best-selling book about the rise of dictator Benito Mussolini, was originally invited by the traditionally left-leaning Rai 3 to deliver a monologue ahead of April 25, when Italy commemorates the victory over fascism.
But on Saturday, Scurati received an email from Rai saying that his appearance had been cancelled, though the programme presenter read his monologue in its entirety.
In the piece, Scurati wrote that the prime minister — who started her political career with a neo-fascist party founded by Mussolini’s surviving allies — was attempting to rewrite history and failing to adequately condemn fascism. The monologue has since been published in many Italian newspapers as well as on Meloni’s own Facebook page.
The PM had “stubbornly stuck to the ideological line of her culture of neo-fascist culture of origin: she distanced herself from the indefensible brutalities perpetrated by the regime (the persecution of Jews) without ever repudiating the fascist experience as a whole”, Scurati wrote.
The controversy — which comes amid broader tensions over the state broadcaster — has led to a war of words between Rai management, its union, Scurati and Meloni, bringing significant public attention to a speech that might otherwise have attracted little notice.
Rai management claimed Scurati’s appearance was scrapped because of “economic and contractual” issues — including his high fee — rather than the substance of his monologue.
“No censorship,” said Paolo Corsini, director of analysis programmes, in a statement on the broadcaster’s website.
However, the Rai journalists’ union said management control over the channel and its editorial content “becomes more suffocating every day”.
Meloni herself responded by saying that Scurati’s reported appearance fee of €1,800 was “the monthly salary” of many Rai employees.
“Those who have always been ostracised and censored by the public broadcasting service will never ask for censorship from anyone,” she wrote on Facebook.
In a piece for the leftist La Repubblica newspaper published on Sunday Scurati — whose historical novel M: Son of the Century is being made into a TV mini-series — asserted that “my thoughts on fascism and post-fascism had to be silenced” and accused Meloni of using her “overwhelming power” to attack him.
“Is this the price you have to pay in your Italy for expressing your thoughts?” Scurati wrote.
The furore comes at a time of high tensions at Rai, which has seen a number of its most prominent personalities depart to join private channels.
Journalists at the public broadcaster have threatened to go on strike, complaining that the board, which is dominated by appointees of Meloni’s right-wing coalition, seeks “to transform the state broadcaster into a megaphone” of the ruling parties.
Additional reporting by Giuliana Ricozzi in Rome
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