President Marinella Soldi wrote to Bruno Vespa regarding yesterday’s episode of “Door to door” in which an abortion study was discussed with only men present. The president, according to what Ansa learns from sources in Viale Mazzini, recalled “the fundamental role of the public service in particular on such a sensitive issue which directly calls women’s bodies into question”. Within a few minutes the host’s reply arrived on the agencies. «He who, as director of Tg1, entrusted the hosting of the 1.30pm program to three women cannot be insensitive to the presence of women», declared Vespa. «Beyond the specific circumstance which I believe I have amply clarified, I recalled that the reputation of Porta a Porta comes from hosting very representative politicians. Well there are only 5 women (Pd and M5S) out of 18 presidents, vice-presidents and presidents of the parliamentary groups of the top 5 parties. In any case we will do everything we can to guarantee women the role they deserve.”
The facts
Seven men talking about abortion and women’s rights. What happened in the Thursday 18 April episode of is causing discussion Door to door, the historic broadcast hosted by Bruno Vespa on Rai1. Among the topics addressed during the evening there was also abortion, and in particular the political fuss raised by the Fratelli d’Italia amendment to allow the entry of pro-life associations into the clinics. «Five men in the studio discussing abortion: Rai in the time of Giorgia Meloni allows an all-male audience to discuss women’s rights», attack the PD members of the Rai supervisory commission. Dem representatives define the episode as “very serious” and announce their intention to bring the matter to the Supervisory Commission to “stop this decline and counteract the clear violation of the principles of gender equality”.
The defense of Door to door
The editorial team itself responded to the controversy Door to door, which explains in a note: «The invitations for the political broadcast on Thursday 18 April were made in the days preceding the outbreak of the controversy». Initially, explains the editorial staff of the Rai program, three female parliamentarians from the Democratic Party were invited, who were eventually replaced by Alessandro Zan after declaring themselves unavailable. The same, he specifies Door to door, it happened with “a newspaper editor, who was also unavailable”. In any case, “abortion was only one of the eight topics covered in yesterday’s broadcast”, points out the program’s editorial staff, who finally announces: “We will, of course, take care of returning to the topic at the first available opportunity”.
The Democratic Party’s attack
The editorial note of Door to door it did not appease the criticisms that were generated both online and among politicians. According to the Democratic Party, “all the principles of gender equality contained in the Rai Service Contract have ceased to exist”. A fact, it is explained, “which undermines the credibility of the Italian public radio and television company”, especially if we consider that less than a year ago Rai “was committed to the European Commission’s ‘No women no panel’ project to guarantee equal representation in public talks and debates”.
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Tags: Porta Porta episode abortion men studio President Soldi grooms Vespa hosts piqued response
