Giorgia Meloni is about to conclude or nearly conclude her term as prime minister, with the longevity record to be reached anyway in September. But there is another record of hers, not much highlighted, that has considerable political importance. The Prime Minister has no charges against her regarding personal honesty and integrity, and is not subject to accusations related to bribes and corruption. An aspect that, after the establishment of the second republic, takes on strong value.
In theory, the Prime Minister is registered as under investigation for aiding and embezzlement by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office, following a complaint by lawyer Luigi Li Gotti and in relation to the Almasri Case, along with Undersecretary Mantovano and Ministers Nordio and Piantedosi. A case where the accusation, beyond the ambiguous naming of the crime, is evidently political in nature, as in the investigation against then Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for the Open Arms ship, in August 2019. Nor can it be said that within Meloni’s circle there have been no investigations, suspicions, and convictions: from Santanchè to Delmastro, from unfortunate remarks and spies around the car of former partner Andrea Giambruno to the stacking of Meloni’s villa.
But nothing substantial concerning her has emerged. Meloni has no judicial proceedings linked to corruption, as claimed with the famous “I am not blackmailable.” In this sense, she connects to some renowned powers of the pre-Tangentopoli first republic. She recalls precedents such as the moral rigor of Alcide De Gasperi, the sobriety of Aldo Moro, Benigno Zaccagnini nicknamed “the honest one.” Like Sandro Pertini, who remained untouched by the drifts that overwhelmed the PSI, to exit the Christian Democratic enclosure. Like President Luigi Einaudi, Ugo La Malfa, PRI leader among the first to denounce the “moral question,” along with Enrico Berlinguer who, also for this reason, died in an aura of secular sanctity. A not very rich gallery in which two women appear: Tina Anselmi, first female minister, and Nilde Iotti, the first President of the Chamber.
While we are all umbilically focused on Vannacci and Alemanno, dredging up Tatarelli’s statements and persisting in squeezing the lemon of La Russa’s declarations, we should reflect for a moment. Between polls, international quarrels with Trump, crises with the US, world wars in pieces, Giorgia Meloni can be liked or disliked a lot. But seeing her as an honest person makes the difference.
