Fini’s editorial: “The left that celebrates Trump, then loses in Italy. It’s still ‘Yankee go home’”

A wrong number leads to an impromptu interview. “Hello, Francesco?” “Actually, it’s Gianfranco. Fini.” “Mr President, that’s a mistake.” “Yes, the well-known pain in the neck.” Fate – or rather, Siri – has decided that we must talk about Meloni, Trump and the Left. “I’ve already given an interview to The Huff.” “Nothing’s stopping us from doing a second one. These are historic days.” The PD has won. “Yes, in Georgia. And all you journalists are writing ‘behind-the-scenes’ pieces – a genre that only exists in Italy. Everyone’s looking for links to the American election.” Do you know, Mr President, that you can’t find a single Trump supporter in Italy anymore? “America has nothing to do with Italy. The Americans voted with their wallets. International politics played a part, as did sky-high petrol prices and the war in Iran. Everything else you read is nonsense. You see, there was a time when Trump started firing point-blank at ‘woke’ culture and ‘cancel culture’.” And did you like that Trump? “He was giving voice to a perfectly legitimate sentiment, but then he changed. He used shameful words about Europe.”

So, are we talking as if this were an interview? “If he hadn’t phoned…”. Well then, let’s talk. Fini says that “there will be no consequences for Italy and that the relationship between Trump and Meloni had already deteriorated when Trump attacked Italy and our fallen soldiers”. I sense a Fini who is proud of Meloni “who reminded Trump of the soldiers who died in Nassiriya. That was when everything changed. Meloni used very clear words. You don’t joke about soldiers”. He gets fired up when he uses the word ‘defence’, “a word that has been demonised. And I find that obscene. Believe me, obscene. Meloni is being criticised for not taking part in the E3 format, but do you know what that means? It’s tantamount to sending troops to Ukraine. Do you know who might do that, paradoxically? The left, but here the left is still stuck on ‘Yankee go home’.”

I inform him that Salvini might vote in favour of the latest aid package for Kyiv at the COPASIR meeting, after which he could trigger a government crisis; Fini replies with a smile: “Salvini comes and goes. He’s looking for an issue to get back on the up. A bit like you journalists. Don’t you have to write every day, too? You know, I used to be a journalist too.” And did you write every day? “I had the privilege of writing whenever I felt like it. I was struck by the question posed by Arrigo Benedetti, the editor of *Paese Sera*, during my professional qualifying exam. ‘Do you know why the Loch Ness monster always appears in August?’” And did Fini, the reporter, know the answer? “I didn’t know. Benedetti explained to me: ‘Because in August there’s nothing to write about. It would be nice to write feature articles. But instead, what will you be writing about?’ Ukraine, perhaps. Or perhaps the CDM, or maybe even Trump… ‘Let me tell you, then, about a pleasant encounter with Lorenzo Guerini, former PD minister and president of COPASIR. A few days ago we were together at the Circolo degli Esteri to discuss the mid-term elections and global turmoil. An event organised by Ambassador Riccardo Sessa.” And the journalists? “Sessa had forgotten to invite them. The meeting was behind closed doors. I thought it was brilliant. But let’s carry on. Guerini, the best of the lot on the left, advised his side to be cautious when commenting on the US election. He said that that election has its own specific context and that thinking they’ve won the next general election would be a colossal mistake. For Guerini, unity isn’t enough; it’s not enough to bring everything together – and the opposite of everything. It’s not enough to beat Meloni. I think so too.”

Will Tajani, Salvini, Lupi and Cateno De Luca be enough for Meloni to win? “The League has no banner to raise at the moment, but Salvini won the Congress; he has shown that there is no League without him. Those who could have rebelled did not.” So, what are we writing about? “The only variation on the theme is the electoral law. I hear people arguing that it’s an unacceptable law. That’s another piece of utter nonsense. The Constitutional Court won’t overturn it.” Will there be an election in May? “There you go, laziness. Mattarella decides. What’s the point of talking about dates?” Is an editorial all we’re left with? “A splendid column, as Alberto Giovannini, the editor of *Il Roma*, advised Teodoro Buontempo, an icon of our right wing.” We could end the phone call like this… “Editor Giovannini used to say: ‘Mind you, Buontempo, write a column with the tip of a spade.’ And now call your MP and get writing. Ah, the editorial… With a sharp edge.”