A strange thing happened in Italy, perhaps a posthumous gift from the Befana that was January 6. In short, we unwrapped the stocking and found something not seen since September 2022 when Giorgia Meloni and the center-right won the elections. Since then, between majority and opposition, indeed, as I say quoting our noble Middle Ages, between Guelphs and Ghibellines, it has been a constant battle: a political battle, a cultural battle, a battle over economic issues, a public discourse that is always divided and divisive, which is bad in a great democracy.
Here I quote American friends, this phrase that exists of this U.S. naval officer, when the American nation was born: is it wrong or right that this is our country? I translate it incorrectly. So the good news is that Cecilia Sala, fellow journalist, has returned home. I am also happy as a journalist, as an editor and I congratulate her, wish her a speedy return to her life.
I am happy not only for the person Cecilia Sala, but also for the journalist, for what she means. I as an editor have, in quotes, handled a lot of war correspondents over 30 years and I know the difficulties of working in countries where there is no freedom. Cecilia Sala’s return home is an acknowledged success of the government, a team effort, Giorgia Meloni said, but let’s face it,it is also a personal success of Giorgia Meloni, who played on several tables. She played in the deep, diplomatic sense of the word, with intelligence and with Iran, but she flew to the United States to meet with Trump, when Trump is not yet president-in-office, he is still president-elect. The still official president, Biden, was supposed to come to Italy, but he could not come because of the drama of the fires in Los Angeles and California.
In short, in this trip, which has stirred up yet another controversy (Musk’s economic deal on satellites, the taunts to America) Giorgia Meloni has brought home not only a journalist and a person, but a great success that comes, fortunately, this is the news from which I started, today recognized by everyone. By everybody: from the family, from the media, from the opposition, from the world of politics, from the world of culture. And we are happy with this success, not because we are sycophants and we want to queue up from the bandwagon of the winner, but because she is a strong leader, who is strong on these important issues, which are about life, about freedom of expression, about the management of international negotiations.
A strong leader in a world like this is good news for Italy, which, right or wrong, is still our country
The article A Meloni victory comes from TheNewyorker.
