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

How I turn a national holiday into an occasion to sow divisions. La Stampa tried yesterday by telling its own version of the great evening organized by the Quirinale for the eightieth anniversary of the Republic. Including the alleged “chill” between President Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It was the Head of State himself who had to intervene to deny the fake news. Also because June 2 was celebrated with popular enthusiasm. Everyone, except certain reporters, also noticed the welcome reserved by the people present precisely for Meloni.

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 did not succeed. There was an attempt to create the narrative of a “crack” between Mattarella and Meloni, even though in reality the two managed the day together without obvious incidents. It is a well-tested mechanism in Italian polarization: but a celebration for everyone had to necessarily become a ground for media confrontation. To try it, no great conspiracy is needed, just the editorial line of newspapers that see the Meloni government as an opponent to always counter, 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 was 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 communications 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 each hosted the President of the Republic, the President of the Senate, the President of the Chamber, the Prime Minister and the President of the Constitutional Court, surrounded by representatives of the citizens. No “distance” then, rather the idea of representing Italian society gathered and “close” to each of the institutional offices of the Republic.» In practice, a fake news quickly denied by the Quirinale. No institutional fractures for June 2. This is the level of certain politics (including journalism); every detail of an institutional event (seating, looks, distances) is often loaded with hidden meanings. It is an unfortunate consolidated tradition of the press and commentators: they look for the “crack” between the Quirinale and Palazzo Chigi, especially when the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister have different political backgrounds (Mattarella an expression of a historic center-left, Meloni a right-wing leader).

CLARIFICATION
Yet the June 2 event was special precisely because of the 80 years of the Republic: Mattarella chose to move it to Piazza del Quirinale with a great public show (“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 the institutions “close to society.” The Quirinale clarified this immediately and firmly. Similarly, Avs also had to move, forced to deny in turn Ilaria Salis who wants to abolish the June 2 parade. Yesterday Angelo Bonelli intervened to silence the talkative MEP: «I do not agree. She is free to say what she wants. Avs’s position is Avs’s.»