Meloni writes post about propagandists after Solovyov's outburst
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote a post about 'zealous regime propagandists' after Italian media highlighted insults directed at her by Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. She received support from Italian politicians.
'By their very nature, zealous regime propagandists are not entitled to give lessons on either consistency or freedom. But these caricatures will certainly not make us change course. Unlike others, we are not dependent on anyone, we have no masters, and we do not take orders. We have only one guiding principle: the interests of Italy. And we will proudly follow it, despite the protests of propagandists from around the world,' Meloni wrote. However, she did not mention the specific reason for her post.
A few hours before Meloni's post, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that the Russian ambassador in Rome, Alexey Paramonov, had been summoned to the Italian Foreign Ministry to express an official protest over 'extremely serious and offensive statements by Russian TV host Vladimir Solovyov' directed at the Prime Minister.
The reason for summoning the Russian ambassador was statements made by Solovyov in both Italian and Russian during one of his broadcasts. In particular, he called Meloni a 'fascist creature who betrayed her voters' and a 'disgrace to humanity.'
'Well, betrayal is her middle name. She betrayed Trump, to whom she had previously sworn loyalty,' the TV host said, among other things.
Solovyov's words were widely covered in Italian media. Reports about his statements regarding Meloni appeared, for example, on the websites of the newspapers La Repubblica and Domani, the Sky Italia channel, and the ANSA news agency.
Italian politicians expressed support for the Prime Minister in the wake of Solovyov's statements. In addition to Tajani, Italian President Sergio Mattarella voiced his solidarity, describing the Russian's words as 'vulgar.'
As reported by Euronews, former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called the insults 'unspeakable,' while the head of the parliamentary committee overseeing state broadcasting RAI, Barbara Floridia, and Noi Moderati party representative Mariastella Gelmini deemed such comments unacceptable. The leader of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, also supported Meloni.
Source: DW
