Most of the opposition parties in the
Lower House on Tuesday called on Premier Giorgia Meloni to
report to parliament on the case of the writer Antonio Scurati,
who was stopped from delivering a planned monologue critical of
her and her right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party on State
broadcaster Rai at the weekend.
The call was made by lawmakers for the Democratic Party (PD),
the 5-Star Movement (M5S), the Green-Left Alliance (AVS) and
Azione.
Several opposition MPs also called on Meloni to express a
"clear" position on anti-Fascism.
In the text of the monologue, Scurati described the "ruling
party" as "post-Fascist" and said it was trying to re-write
history rather than "repudiate its neo-fascist past".
He was set to present it in view of Thursday's Liberation Day
national holiday, when the country celebrates its liberation
from Fascism and the Nazi occupation in World War II.
Meloni criticized Scurati in a Facebook post, saying she would
never ask for censorship as she had been "ostracized and
censored" by the public service broadcaster in the past, and
suggested Rai had simply refused to pay 1,800 euros for a
one-minute monologue.
She also published the text of the monologue "so Italian people
can freely judge its content".
On Sunday Scurati said he had been subjected to a form of
"violence" by the premier and felt afraid.
"When the boss points the finger at the enemy and the newspapers
put you on the front pages, they put a target on your face," he
said.
"Then there might be someone who takes aim at that target".
Opposition parties criticised the decision to stop Scurati
giving the monologue, saying was part of an effort to limit
dissenting voices and turn the State broadcaster into a
"megaphone" for the government.
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