It is the big turning point of this European electoral campaign, before the last street challenge, in Rome, between the two best enemies of Italian politics. And as such it polarizes, divides, mobilizes. Let’s talk about the TV duel between Giorgia Meloni and Elly Schlein hosted by Porta a Porta on Rai 1 on May 23rd. And of Bruno Vespa’s door on which the other leaders of the party, majority and opposition, large and small, knock more and more loudly, all annoyed by the two-way challenge of Giorgia and Elly who promises to take the spotlight and take it away from the others.
These are hectic hours in the Rai house, caught in a double vice. On the one hand, the excluded who protest, appeal for equal conditions, promise appeals. Doubts were also raised by a center-right heavyweight such as Forza Italia leader and deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani, who told this newspaper: «No exponents of series A and B». And the crowd is growing, from Giuseppe Conte who yesterday again reprimanded Vespa for a “profoundly wrong approach” of the TV duel to the leaders of small parties ready for the barricades, such as Nicola Fratoianni of Avs: “This thing about television confrontations is ridiculous.” The other grip is called Agcom: the communications authority will meet tomorrow and on the agenda there will also be the diatribe on the challenge of the women leaders of the Brothers of Italy and the Pd and its compatibility with the rules in force.
THE OTHER INVITATIONS
In truth, Vespa and Rai have already reassured that no rule will be prohibited. And from Rai 1’s “Third Chamber” they let it be known that they have invited all political leaders to speak and challenge each other in front of the cameras. Same times, same visibility and time slot as the Agcom directive on equal conditions requires for these European Championships. Not one duel, but many together, therefore, with the pairs of duelists already chosen by the authors. Meloni and Schlein have already confirmed and in these hours their respective staff will be in touch to agree on rules and topics on which to skewer themselves in the most famous white seats of Rai. The premiership and civil rights, the EU of electric cars and the common defense that doesn’t exist. Then the others.
Challenge in the center between Carlo Calenda and Antonio Tajani and who knows if they will remain “moderate” here too, in an hour of American-style match. Giuseppe Conte and Matteo Salvini have already received the invitation from Vespa and it’s a pretty good pairing, media-wise, guaranteed share for the back-and-forth between the old allies of the yellow-green government that Papeete has divided and transformed into bitter enemies. But there is a significant hitch: if Salvini has already mobilized the social machine to prepare the ground for the great challenge between exes, Conte doesn’t want to know about it. And he continues to bombard the main duel between Meloni and Schlein, the leader of the Five Star Movement, “we want the rules of equal conditions to be respected, we are in an election campaign”, he thundered again yesterday in Rome.
Who knows, maybe the lawyer’s forfeit paves the way for a great comeback: a re-edition of the TV match between the two “Matteis”, Renzi and Salvini. They had already crossed swords in Vespa’s living room, in 2019, when the “Captain’s” League was sailing above 30 percent and Renzi had not yet slammed the door of the Nazarene. To each his own: the head of Noi Moderati Maurizio Lupi and the leaders of the left-left Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni. Anyone who leads a party with “parliamentary representation” as explained by Rai in response to the small parties that are already rising up against the TV challenge of the big ones, like South calls North of the volcanic Cateno De Luca.
THE PRECAUTIONS
In short, the duel, or rather the duels will take place, one way or another and it will not be Agcom that will slow down the machine that has been set in motion. While waiting for the Authority led by Giacomo Lasorella to express itself tomorrow – Rai sent a letter asking for indications so as not to violate the level playing field and another, more controversial letter came from the M5S president of Rai Supervision Barbara Floridia – to viale Mazzini prepares the big match in detail. And together we study ways out to avoid appeals from the indignados. For example, for leaders who, like Conte, will refuse the format proposed by Vespa, single interviews but with half the time: half an hour maximum. Anything to avoid ruining the first real challenge on camera between the strong women of Italian politics.
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