«They will never apologize, it is not in their nature and above all it is not in their convenience. If anything, they will shift the blame onto one of their own and purge him.” In an interview given to Republic and other newspapers in the network Lena the writer Antonio Scurati returns to the censorship of his speech on anti-fascism a What will be by Serena Bortone. And she makes a precise accusation: «Their method is always aggressive, never submissive. I suffered moral, psychological violence. I was branded as a criminal, a swindler, a profiteer, as if I had extorted an undue compensation.” And again: «Tg1 offered the unworthy spectacle of a journalist who asked for my indictment for contempt of institutions».
The Buchmesse
The writer reveals: «I have been subjected to threats for some time, I have not changed my life. But beyond my single case we have witnessed attacks on Republic, to Lilli Gruber, to the cancellation of Roberto Saviano’s broadcast, to the complaint against Luciano Canfora by the Prime Minister”. Then he quotes Goebbels’ phrase: “When I hear talk of culture I reach for the gun”: «I don’t want to compare the current Italian ruling class to Goebbels at all, but it’s true that there is a discredit of the intellectual on the part of this right extreme and populist. Discrediting the intellectual, whether he is the bearer of literary or scientific knowledge, is a characteristic of sovereignist populism. I also suffered personal attacks from the second highest official in the state, Ignazio La Russa. I took some small initiatives of dissent, I think I was the only Italian to refuse to be part of the delegation that will represent Italy as guest of honor at the next Buchmesse in Frankfurt, but I didn’t publicize it.”
The corruption of the spirit
Scurati says that «others would have done it, aware that in the majority of distracted public opinion, annoyance for the left-wing intellectual prevails». While what hurt him most was «knowing that the rulers of your country, democratically elected by the majority of the people, can reach such baseness. There is a corruption of the spirit, an underlying pollution.” For the writer “the risk for liberal democracies is here and now”. Because «enmity towards anti-fascist culture is an integral part of the personal and political history of the prime minister and the management group that supports her. It is a very deep root. The neo-fascist youth identity is rooted, ineradicable. The mayor of Cagliari, Paolo Truzzu, has the writing “Trux” tattooed on his forearm, which is a playful portmanteau between his surname and the term “Dux”».
The dangers for democracy
Finally, among the dangers for democracy, Scurati cites «the constitutional reform project which would provide for the direct election of the head of government and which, as eminent constitutionalists have noted, would debase the role of the President of the Republic as a figure of guarantee and would make Parliament even more marginal than it already is. The discredit of the parliamentary institution is a trait common to all sovereignist populisms and links them to Mussolini’s fascism. What worries me is the worsening quality of democracy. Its slow and progressive erosion is underway today. And the process does not only concern Italy but Europe. The model of the post-fascists are authoritarian or illiberal democracies like Hungary.”
