2023-05-11 16:14:06
The resignation of the managing director of RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana), Carlo Fuortes, announced on Monday May 8, appears to be another step in the takeover of public broadcasting by the far-right government led by Georgia Meloni . “The conditions are no longer met to continue my work”, declared this trained economist, who had previously directed several cultural institutions, in a letter delivered to the Minister of the Economy.
Appointed in 2021 by the Draghi government, he denounces the desire of the far-right government to oust him before the end of his mandate scheduled for the summer of 2024. “Since the beginning of 2023, the position I hold and my person have been the subject of a political confrontation which contributes to weakening the public service. »
A decree targeting the French director of the Naples Opera
This decision comes shortly after the adoption of a decree by the Italian Council of Ministers, Thursday, May 4, which sets the retirement age for foreign directors of opera houses at 70 years old. A limit that directly targets Stéphane Lissner, the French director of the Naples Opera, who celebrated his 70th birthday in January. “Shocked and psychologically distressed”, he told the Italian media to consider all legal remedies so as not to let go of the San Carlo.
Carlo Fuortes – strongly expected to succeed him at the head of the Naples Opera – denied any exchange on the subject with the government and hastened to affirm that he would not go to the San Carlo theater. But the timing leaves little room for doubt.
“We cannot say for certain, but the impression given is that of a decree to the person thought to free the RAI. Otherwise why would he have waited for the publication of the decree to resign? He could pgo forward”, analyzes Massimiliano Panarari, professor of sociology of communication at Mercatorum University in Rome.
Writing a new national narrative
Liberate the RAI in order to place its men there. Among the hypotheses circulating to replace Carlo Fuortes is that of a tandem composed of Roberto Sergio and Giampaolo Rossi. The first, who led public radio from 2015 to 2019, is historically more affiliated with Christian Democracy but has moved closer to the right in recent years. The second is very close to Giorgia Meloni. Executive of the RAI and adviser of the audiovisual strategy of the far-right party Fratelli d’Italia, he has multiplied in recent years the positions of conspiracy, pro-Putin and antivax. He does not hide his intentions: to put an end to “the cultural hegemony of the left”.
If in Italy the government has always had significant control over public broadcasting, it is the project to rewrite a new national narrative that worries. A strategy that is not in doubt for Massimiliano Panarari: “The idea is to have control over entertainment programs, the choice of presenters, but also over the production of fiction in order to convey the values dear to the conservative right: family, tradition…”, explains the sociologist who warns against a certain form of revisionism. “The risk is to see at prime time fiction that rewrites historical moments like April 25 (anniversary of the liberation of Italy in 1945, editor’s note) or the 1is May, for example. »
The maneuver does not stop at the public audiovisual sector but concerns all cultural institutions. In Rome, the right-wing journalist, close to Giorgia Meloni, Alessandro Giuli was appointed head of the National Museum of 21st Century Arts (Maxxi) this winter. And in Naples, Beatrice Venezi, a melonist from the start, could soon take charge of the San Carlo.
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