It was unofficial, now it’s official: Carlo Conti will be artistic director and host of the next edition of the Sanremo festivalor rather the next two, which is good news because at least in ’25 we will be spared all the anticipations and indiscretions and premonitions about who will be the owner of Sanremone ’26. After Amadeus’ farewell he moved to Nove, was the most predictable name, let’s say the obvious of the people. If anything, the sobriety with which the white smoke was communicated is surprising. We learned that habemus papam from an announcement on Tg1 at eight o’clock, understood as those in the morning, while Rai usually does things on a bigger scale: in recent years, the announcement was only missing the Frecce tricolori and a message from Mattarella to unified networks. However, there was no shortage of the usual puns to which the surname of the Abbronzatissimo lends itself, such as the Counts return, already read everywhere, etc.: but we know that Sanremo inevitably brings out the worst in all of us.
Safe second-hand
Ultimately (oops!), it’s safe used. Well done Rai soldier, when the company calls Mr. Carlo answers. He himself pointed out that it is a “nice way to celebrate” his first forty years in Rai, because “the first contract dates back to June 1985”, as time passes, but we know that the state TV it is like the carabinieri, faithful to itself over the centuries. There will not be, “at least not in permanent presence” (always the host-art director), the old friends Pieraccioni & Panariello“we do too many things together, I can hardly stand those two anymore”, and if he says so…
That’s not the only good news. It seems that CC (Carlo Conti, not the carambas mentioned above) also wants to put a brake on the Nibelungen duration of the eveningsand has already made it known that they will not end at dawn as in the case of his predecessor Amadeus.
After all, he knows the machine. Counts of Sanremoni he has already officiated three, in the three-year period 2015-17, which all things considered went well, with the exception of Volo’s victory in the first; but in the third, Francesco Gabbani’s monkey took care of giving the public a wake-up call (in the middle, in ’16, Stadio prevailed, without leaving much of a trace). They were professional festivals, well organised, flawless and with limited controversy. In the first, Conchita Wurst appeared, a woke and politically correct version of the bearded woman of the ancient Barnums, who today I don’t think would be very welcome to the current national-sovereign Rai. Ditto for Rainbow ribbons and bracelets worn by almost everyone, artists and guests, in support of the Cirinnà law.
Risk of political pressure
By the way: it will be interesting to understand, but we will know, I fear, only when the festival is celebrated, what and how much political pressure will be inflicted on Conti. They asked Amadeus to call Povia, Hoara Borselli, Mogol and to be seen wrapped up with Pino Insegno: what do you want the escape to Nove to be in comparison? We will see what “narrative”, as they say now, will be imposed by the Melonian caciques who so far, at Rai, have demonstrated once again that the master must fear foolish servants more than his adversaries. Let’s hope they at least remember Talleyrand: surtout, pas trop de zèle.
But Carlo Conti It frankly seems very well equipped for the need. Professional, it is, and impeccably so. But, for Sanremo, it also has the right national-popular dimension, predictable enough, banal enough, communist place as it should be, capable of giving a big round of applause and explaining to us that there are no more transitional seasons. He is the ordinary Presenter, the man who always has to ask, one of us, perhaps slightly more enlightened, to the extreme left of the right and to the extreme right of the left, genetically Christian Democrat: in medio stat virtus and also the ratings. Medioman, in short, as ecumenical, inclusive, reassuring Sanremo must be, this infinite variation on the theme that we always find new because it is in reality always the same. And so it is up to the Nation, every year, to do the math (sorry, it is stronger than us…).
