A masterstroke by FdI: turning Ranucci into a martyr

In Italy, purges are like the Nobel Prize. By removing Sigfrido Ranucci from the helm of “Report” – as it is about to do – Rai is thus bestowing upon him the most coveted honour, with the justification already penned by the recipient himself, who in his public statements has for weeks been portraying himself as a victim of persecution. The paradox is that this very stance was precisely the plan of Valter Lavitola, who wanted to build a halo around him. The attack had produced only a rough draft, a superficial martyrdom. For a true martyrdom, much more is needed; a corporate decision is required. Thus, Viale Mazzini is carrying out, with bureaucratic diligence, the task that the owner of the Cefalù restaurant had left half-finished.

It is undisputed that the impetus came from Fratelli d’Italia, just as it is undisputed that in those circles people often think not like men but like corporals, according to the anthropological model established by Totò and never contradicted by the facts, where the corporal is the one who shouts orders without having understood the problem. The political problem, for FdI, was not Ranucci. It was "Report". And Ranucci, following the Lavitola affair, had in fact become the most effective tool for neutralising "Report"’s bias, because an investigative programme hosted by a man who must answer for his associations and chat messages does not press anyone; he defends himself and is met with derision. It would have been enough to leave Ranucci where he was. Immobile, authoritative only by contract, and the programme would have petered out of its own accord – without public rallies, without theatre performances, without the book announced for 2027. Instead, they opted for his removal, which makes Ranucci a purged figure (and thus a ‘Nobel’ candidate) and hands the programme over to a successor who, whoever they may be, will have to prove to the whole world that they are not the regime’s presenter. So he will do exactly what was done before, with even greater zeal. The result is that the right will face twice the problem: Ranucci as a martyr and "Report" as a hyper-partisan programme. But intelligence is like courage: if you don’t have it, you can’t just give it to yourself.