La Stampa tried to ruin the party. But the Quirinale: no distance with Meloni | Libero Quotidiano.it

How to turn a national holiday into an opportunity to sow division. Yesterday, La Stampa tried to do just that, recounting in its own way the grand evening organized by the Quirinale for the Republic’s eightieth anniversary. This included the alleged “frost” between President Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The Head of State himself had to intervene to debunk the hoax. Also because June 2nd was celebrated with popular enthusiasm. Everyone, except certain journalists, also noticed the warm welcome given by those present specifically to Meloni.

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OVATION
The ovation for the Prime Minister, the standing ovation for the Head of State sealed a beautiful day of celebration that someone wanted to tarnish. But they didn’t succeed. An attempt was made to create a narrative of a “rift” between Mattarella and Meloni, even though in reality the two managed the day together without obvious incidents. It’s a well-tested mechanism in Italian polarization: but a celebration for everyone had to necessarily become a ground for media confrontation. To try this, no great conspiracy is needed, just the editorial line of newspapers that see the Meloni government as an adversary to be constantly opposed, even (or especially) in moments of national unity. And the Quirinale was forced to deny the alleged “distance” between Mattarella and Meloni during the ceremony. La Stampa had invented that during the event in Piazza del Quirinale there would have been a physical separation between the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, interpreting it as a possible sign of institutional or political “distance”.

And from the Quirinale came the denial from the communication advisor Giovanni Grasso: «No physical distance between the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni […]. The five sectors of the front row hosted, each, the President of the Republic, the President of the Senate, the President of the Chamber, the President of the Council, and the President of the Constitutional Court, surrounded by citizens’ representatives. No “distance” then, but rather the idea of depicting Italian society gathered and “close” to each of the institutional offices of the Republic». In practice, a hoax quickly debunked by the Quirinale. No institutional rifts for June 2nd. This is the level of certain politics (journalism included); every detail of an institutional event (seating, glances, distances) is often loaded with hidden meanings. It’s a bad, consolidated tradition of the press and commentators: they look for a “rift” between the Quirinale and Palazzo Chigi, especially when the President of the Republic and the Premier have different political histories (Mattarella an expression of a historical center-left, Meloni a right-wing leader).

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CLARIFICATION
Yet the June 2nd event was special precisely for the Republic’s 80th anniversary: Mattarella chose to move it to Piazza del Quirinale with a large public spectacle (“The Faces of the Republic”), more inclusive and less elitist than the usual reception in the gardens. The arrangement in separate sectors, with each office surrounded by citizens, was explicitly designed to symbolize institutions “close to society.” The Quirinale clarified this immediately and sharply. Similarly, Avs also had to act, forced in turn to deny Ilaria Salis, who wants to abolish the June 2nd parade. Yesterday, Angelo Bonelli intervened to silence the talkative MEP: «I don’t agree. She is free to say what she wants. Avs’s position is Avs’s».

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