“Here I am, back to work, call all units.” With this sarcastic opening, aimed primarily at journalists who criticized the lack of information about her whereabouts, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni officially kicked off the autumn political season. Once again, she chose social media as her medium: a direct video, bypassing intermediaries, with a tanned and relaxed face but a tone far from peaceful.
“A difficult summer for me?” the Prime Minister questioned, continuing her critique of the numerous articles that described her inner circle in turmoil, her sister Arianna as a victim of conspiracies, an overly expensive estate, and contentious meetings with allies. Meloni denied all of this, delivering a sharp rebuttal, noting that truly difficult summers are those endured by Italians who couldn’t afford a vacation. For them, she vowed to work even harder and more dedicatedly, thanks to her restful break in Puglia.
End of the broadcast on all channels—or rather, in modern terms, on a single network. But the beauty of democracy, which we fully enjoy despite everything, is that everyone is free to interpret and analyze as they wish. Some applaud, while others nitpick: noticing an unconscious grimace, a stern look—Meloni doesn’t seem at ease, they say. And so on.
To me, it seems that for this video, we should apply what my literary criticism professors used to say: get used to reading the actual lines, not above or between them, just the real lines. Brilliant. To read between the lines, all you need to do is flip through the newspapers to realize that this social and political autumn won’t be a walk in the park…
