FdI’s case against Speranza in the Covid committee. The mystery of the leaked speech

The news agencies are to blame. "Your statements appear in the news agencies even before you’ve uttered them," Marco Lisei, a Meloni supporter, points out to Roberto Speranza. "I bet you’ll round off your speech with Pope Francis. I’ve already read it on Adnkronos," he chides him. The former Health Minister has agreed to speak before the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the management of the health emergency caused by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the measures adopted to prevent and tackle the epidemiological emergency. In August, Giuseppe Conte, then former Prime Minister, gave evidence before the commission. 

“You have shown a lack of respect for the institutions; you released your statements to the press before presenting them here in committee. This is the respect that you and Arcuri show for the institutions,” Alice Buonguerrieri, FdI group leader on the Covid committee, immediately retorts, before asking him whether he feels any shame regarding the circulars issued during the Covid pandemic. Regarding those circulars, Speranza defends himself, “an ad hoc and unprecedented propaganda campaign was waged. Vulgar propaganda against the institutions. There are 73 pages, involving the CTS, CSS and AIFA – three circulars described in the propaganda as ‘paracetamol and watchful waiting’”. Speranza is before the committee to provide clarity (“I am at your disposal. I’ve cleared my entire diary to be here”), but if he goes on too long with his answers, he is asked to summarise, and whilst he is reading opinions and expert reports, Lisei cuts him short: “Well, it’s not the Gospel, it’s not the absolute truth.” 

During his opening speech, silence reigned supreme. “The lockdowns were crucial for the health and safety of a great many people. We were the first in the West to have to implement them,” explains the former minister, who cites studies and figures in defence of his actions during the worst years of the pandemic. “According to the 2020 Imperial College study published in *Nature*, 630,000 lives were saved by the first lockdown alone. A colour-coded monitoring system was then introduced to avoid further blanket lockdowns. Our country has seen a general strengthening of its healthcare resources, thanks in part to the work of the commission, first under Arcuri and then under Figliuolo.”

According to Speranza, vaccines “have been the real game-changer in the pandemic. According to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, between January 2021 and January 2022, 151,532 deaths were prevented thanks to vaccines. Similarly, according to the same study, 517,807 hospital admissions were avoided within the National Health Service. Meanwhile – he continued – a more recent study, published by JAMA in December 2025 in France, found that out of 22,767,546 vaccinated and 5,932,443 unvaccinated individuals followed for four years, the vaccinated were 75 per cent less likely to die from Covid and had a 25 per cent overall reduction in the likelihood of death,” added the former minister. “It pains me that vaccines or trust in science are perceived as having a political slant. I consider this to be profoundly wrong.”

Then came the spat. Buonguerrieri asked whether Speranza and the PD were not ashamed and had no intention of apologising to the unvaccinated people who, according to the commissioner, had been offended by Speranza and his party. “I have given 150 million euros to those harmed by vaccines. These are the facts; the rest is propaganda, an election campaign,” replied the former minister, adding: “I understand that you have to write a post, but it is offensive to say that the PD offends people. There has to be a limit.” “We note that you did not wish to answer the first questions, because they were uncomfortable,” concluded Buonguerrieri.

Speranza is fighting a lone battle. No one from the Nazareno is defending him, whilst attacks are pouring in from the majority. “Speranza is peddling a self-exculpatory narrative,” says Galeazzo Bignami, FdI’s group leader in the Chamber of Deputies. Meloni-aligned Senator Antonella Zedda adds: “All we hear from Speranza is self-praise and a refusal to accept any critical scrutiny.” Speranza, however, defends himself: “All too often, this committee’s sole objective has appeared to be to viciously attack its political opponents. And to try to garner some support from denialist and anti-scientific groups.”