The reactions recorded in the last few hours in political buildings are as heterogeneous as possible: bewilderment, disbelief, amusement. The news is, to be honest, quite relevant, because it involves one of the leading exponents of the Democratic Party, former secretary of the DS, minister, mayor of Turin and so on and so forth. We are talking about Piero Fassino and the complaint against him for attempted theft at the Duty Free at Fiumicino Airport which hit the editorial offices of all the newspapers and the political secretariats of the parties yesterday morning. Disbelief, they said.
In fact, imagining that a man of human and political value like Fassino could be stopped by the airport police with perfume in his pocket might seem like fake news from social media, like the news that cyclically claims Pippo Baudo, Gerry Scotti or other famous people are dead. Naughty videos or posts that often become viral (with their obvious and justifiable warnings) thanks to some joker with an easy keyboard. Instead this is actually true and clear news: the former Minister of Justice (sic!), now a member of parliament of the PD, was stopped last April 15th in Fiumicino, before embarking for Brussels, after having put a perfume of the value of approximately 100 euros. The complaint for theft was immediately filed, as is the practice in similar cases involving the common man.
Fassino, questioned yesterday about the incident by a well-known national newspaper, justified himself by saying: “while I was about to buy a perfume from a well-known brand for my wife, my cell phone rang. Having only two hands and a trolley in the other, I put the perfume in my jacket pocket, with the obvious intention of paying for it at the cash register as soon as I finished the cell phone call.” Plausible. It’s a shame, however, that the Dem parliamentarian was stopped well beyond the Duty Free checkouts, when he was already proceeding towards boarding his flight, trapped by the security cameras which triggered the alarm and, viewed over and over again by the security airport, the consequent complaint for attempted theft. There were those who laughed at the episode yesterday in Montecitorio, just as a well-known member of the Democratic Party (also a former minister) shook his head and murmured: “at this point we only need one asteroid on the Nazarene and we’re good to go”. In fact there is nothing to say, just over a month before the European elections the Democratic Party faces one of the most difficult moments of recent years, with an unknown on the electoral result which could send home yet another political secretary, the poor Elly Schlein, and the first on the list of many, the founder Romano Prodi, who has recently returned to speaking to the press with unusual frequency, bombarding his party colleagues here and there, starting with the national secretary herself.
In the other camp, that of the majority, the climate is certainly more serene, at least apparently. If the government led by Giorgia Meloni can sail in calm waters given the total non-existence of a real opposition (except for the media which, as per practice, during elections resurrect from mothballs the usual lysergic debate on Fascism and anti-Fascism), what at Palazzo Chigi what is most feared are the possible, yet probable, ungrammatical errors coming from within. Observed number one, needless to say, Matteo Salvini, who with these European Championships is playing the role of leader of the League for the first time and seriously. As if that wasn’t enough, in the last few hours a survey was viewed in Via Bellerio which would have completely evaporated the “quid”, estimated months ago at around 3%, which would bring General Vannacci’s candidacy to the Northern League. There are still a few days left for the composition of the lists, but the rabbit in the top hat, for the deputy prime minister, still seems very far from materializing.
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