Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday
dropped a slander suit against a veteran leftist historian who
called her a "neo-Nazi in her soul" when she was sole leader of
the opposition in April 2022.
Luciano Canfora's trial for aggravated defamation was due to
have started on Monday, October 7.
Meloni has withdrawn the complaint against the historian and
philologist from Bari Canfora, 82, for calling her "a neo-Nazi
at heart", "a poor thing", "and treated like a very dangerous
idiot".
Meloni was a civil plaintiff and had asked for compensation of
20 thousand euros.
Canfora's statements on April 11, 2022, came about six months
before the rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) scored a crushing
electoral victory to become Italy's first woman premier.
Pundits said that, among other things, she had benefitted from
FdI being the only party to remain in opposition when former
European central banker Mario Draghi formed a national unity
technocratic government.
Meloni, whose party has neo-Fascist roots, has repeatedly
condemned historical Fascism's suspension of democracy and its
"odious" racial laws against the Jews.
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