Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has
said she considers "very plausible" an editorial published by
Milan daily il Giornale claiming that media hostile to the
government, the left and some prosecutors are allegedly scheming
against her sister Arianna, head of the secretariat of her
right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
The editorial's headline read: "They want to investigate Arianna
Meloni".
"It is a scheme that has been repeatedly seen, in particular
against (ex-premier) Silvio Berlusconi: a system of power which
uses any method and any expedient in order to defeat a political
enemy that wins a democratic competition at the ballots", Meloni
told ANSA over the phone late Sunday, from the resort in Puglia
where she is spending her summer holiday.
After "searching my life and that of every person close to me,
without finding anything", she said, "the worst" form of
politics is using "paltry and desperate moves", including
against her eldest sister Arianna Meloni.
The premier continued saying that, if such allegations were
confirmed, and "they have moved on to smear campaigns and the
elaboration of theories in hopes of some fanciful investigation
against people close to me, starting with my sister Arianna, it
would be very grave".
Meloni added however that "it would also be a good sign" because
it would mean that "we are dismantling a system of interests
that has been keeping Italy hostage for too many years".
The editorial penned by il Giornale's Alessandro Sallusti cited,
among others, media reports on Arianna Meloni's alleged
involvement in key public-sector appointments.
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