The Paris embassy post has been vacant for months. The race between Genuardi and Lo Cascio. And the Sangiuliano-Giuli possibility

Paris is well worth a Tajani. Every ambassador dreams of going there, but the post remains vacant. Can one of Europe’s most important diplomatic missions remain without an official diplomat? Should we wait for the next presidential elections to decide on the most suitable candidate? At first, it was a contest between the Farnesina and Palazzo Chigi, a duel between Secretary-General Riccardo Guariglia and Tajani’s chief of staff, Francesco Genuardi, but now it seems like a dance of wigs: Tony’s Peers. At the end of June, Emanuela D’Alessandro, ambassador since 2022, is stepping down from her post and returning to the Quirinale as Mattarella’s adviser on diplomatic affairs. Tajani’s initial choice is Guariglia, who would hand over the highly coveted role of Secretary-General to Genuardi. Meloni is playing for time. Why? France is a province of Fazzolari, the Sun King of the right. As the days pass, speculation mounts in Paris: what if a Sangiuliano or Alessandro Giuli were to arrive? Allons, intellectuals of the nation!

Mussolini sent Dino Grandi to London; Renzi chose Calenda as permanent representative in Brussels. Why can’t Meloni send an Italian brother? Calm down. At every Council of Ministers meeting, the rumour circulates that Tajani (who denies it) is trying to back the appointment of Guariglia, Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ambassador who took over the post previously held by Elisabetta Belloni and Ettore Sequi. Guariglia’s rise through the ranks has been the subject of sniggers for years. The favourite for the post of Secretary-General was Ambassador Armando Varricchio, but Guariglia got the better of him because (so the legend goes), together with Tajani, he was part of the ‘best of the young’ (monarchist) set. In short, they have known each other since they were young men. Guariglia is just a few years away from retirement. Elections are drawing near – not just the French ones, but the Italian ones too. What does a career diplomat do? He looks around. Those who have served the Meloni government and been promoted (take the case of Fabrizio Bucci in Berlin or Luca Ferrari in Tel Aviv) fear they will be replaced with the arrival of a new government. In France it was the Reign of Terror; in diplomacy, it translates as ‘packing your boxes’.

If Schlein or Conte wins, it is already clear that the Farnesina will take no prisoners, and that the first to be sidelined will be Fabrizio Saggio, Meloni’s diplomat who was aiming to become ambassador to Washington. In truth, another who had his sights set on a post in America was Genuardi, who follows Tajani like a shadow, so much so that Tajani did not want to part with him. Genuardi has remained by his side, but now that the parliamentary term is drawing to a close, Tajani is torn: he feels the need to reward that loyalty. Either he sends him to Paris or appoints him as Secretary-General. At Palazzo Chigi, they believe (though Tajani denies it): with Genuardi as Secretary-General, Tajani will retain a degree of influence even in a future government, all the more so if that government were to be centre-right and Tajani were no longer Foreign Secretary. There are reservations. Another minor hurdle. The ‘Sun King’ of the right, Fazzolari, has always had a passion for diplomacy – being the son of a diplomat – and understands the importance of having trusted figures close by, all the more so in France (a country where Fazzolari has lived). The right-wing ambassador par excellence is Vattani Jr, but he is posted in Tokyo, so that is not an option. Among Genuardi, Guariglia and who knows how many others, a third candidate – Guariglia’s deputy – might come out on top. He is Carlo Lo Cascio, who has also set his sights on the OSCE, just as Saggio would have set his sights on Brussels, the post currently held by Vincenzo Celeste.

In French, it is called an ‘impasse’. At the Farnesina, the impasse is causing the usual discontent and acrimony. The Meloni government’s decision to recall the Italian ambassador to Ethiopia, Sem Fabrizi – described by the Ethiopian government as a ‘persona non grata’ – continues to raise questions within the Farnesina community. It is the same community that has been fighting for a year now against Don Tajani, the chaplain Don Malizia, who has now taken Guariglia’s place and achieved unrivalled dominance. In short: the Secretary-General is a candidate for Paris (with Tajani, as usual, denying it), the Chief of Staff is running for the post of Secretary-General (or for Paris), and in the meantime the chaplain is running the ministry. And in France? If Le Pen were to win, everything would change for Meloni and Fazzolari. A more ‘political’ figure is needed. Trump has sent Ambassador Fertitta to Italy – the friend who funded his election campaign – and in Paris, do you know who he’s chosen? His father-in-law Kushner, Charles Kushner, the father of Jared, Ivanka’s husband. In Italy, in theory, this is impossible (career diplomats must be appointed), but there is a precedent.

Take the case of Carlo Calenda, appointed by Renzi as representative in Brussels. It was a decision that split the diplomatic corps, even if the diplomats had brought it on themselves. Renzi had chosen Cesare Maria Ragaglini, but Ragaglini was asking for time (and more besides…), whereupon Renzi, growing impatient, decided to pull a surprise move. Could it happen again? Who might become Meloni’s Italian representative in Paris? Gennaro Sangiuliano, a former RAI correspondent and recently appointed regional coordinator for FdI in Campania. His name—and this is no joke—is doing the rounds on Rue de Varenne, as is another. Who is the minister in Meloni’s government who speaks French and is familiar with the French classics? It is Alessandro Giuli, previously touted as a possible candidate to head the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris. These are clearly flights of fancy, but aren’t these times that defy even the imagination? What is true is that Tajani is said to have ruled out Guariglia and that Meloni is postponing the decision in the Council of Ministers. One possible solution would be to send Don Malizia, Tajani’s chaplain, to Paris. After Cardinals Mazarin and Richelieu, we might have Cardinal Malizia: the felucca with the biretta.