Matteotti, interview with his granddaughter: “Well done Meloni, clear words about my grandfather. Let’s turn the page.”

The ceremony with which Giacomo Matteotti was remembered in Montecitorio, in the presence of the highest officials of the State, also struck the scholars and intellectuals of the reformist area: «A beautiful occasion in which important words were used», the comment of the historian Zeffiro Ciuffoletti, who wrote over thirty volumes on the history of the PSI. “It’s a nice sign of national unity, beyond any old fence.” Riccardo Nencini, former socialist senator and author of two books on Matteotti’s life, in the Chamber among the guests of honor at the ceremony, also draws a positive conclusion: «It was an important moment of reflection, even if it would have been appropriate to remember Matteotti with the only adjective he cared about: socialist.” It is precisely by looking at the family album that we also asked the opinion of Elena Matteotti, 67 years old, granddaughter of the socialist leader killed by the squadristi one hundred years ago.

Are you, Elena, the direct niece of the socialist secretary murdered in 1924?
«Yes, my sister and I are the two daughters of Matteo, the second child that our grandfather Giacomo had with his wife, my grandmother Velia, three years before he died».

Have you ever devoted yourself to politics?
«Never, except as a subject of humanistic study. I am a teacher, I have always taken care of my job. And as a family we never talked much about politics.”

Never, not even with your father?
«It may seem strange to you but he never wanted to talk to us about my grandfather. He never mentioned his father Giacomo. Perhaps to keep us safe from the spiral of hatred, to preserve ourselves. He who knows. In fact, he never told us anything about that story at home.”

Excuse me, but when did you know that you were the nephew of the most famous martyr of fascism?
«At the age of six my father took us with him to the Lungotevere, to what I later understood was the site of my grandfather’s kidnapping. I found many people gathered to commemorate him. Among them were Saragat and Nenni, who showed me the spot where my grandfather had been picked up by the squadri’s car. I did not understand. Only there did I realize that my grandfather must have been an important person. But when we returned home, we didn’t talk about it anymore.”

The shock of losing his father like that, at three years old…
«My father lost his father at three years old and then his mother. He had an embolism and died in hospital after the operation. An unfortunate family history.”

She is touring schools, meeting students. And last April 25th you asked for a clear message from the institutions. Did she have it?
«Now I would say yes. I was afraid that there wouldn’t be such clear feedback, but I was pleasantly surprised. The celebration of May 30 was accompanied by words that leave no room for ambiguity.”

What do you think of Giorgia Meloni’s intervention?
“I really appreciated it. You called things by their name, and I really appreciate the clarity. I liked her, we must recognize that she exceeded all expectations.”

But are you a left-wing woman?
«Yes, I am hereditarily left-wing. She is ready to recognize that she can start a dialogue with Giorgia Meloni. You said clear and important things. It took them a long time to tell her, eh. But maybe that’s right. Because there is a job that everyone does to put aside the acrimony and try to move towards the other.”

Will he meet her?
«I would like to meet you, I would be very pleased to have a discussion with you, from many points of view. She is a woman who intrigues me, who I would be very happy to meet. Also because she understood that we must know how to move on.”