“It is inappropriate to judge Meloni in a history book, as Laterza does. But no to censorship.” The head of the headteachers’ association speaks out

“A history book should not deal with current affairs, and including comments of that sort within it is inappropriate. But I am opposed to censorship.” Speaking to Il Foglio, Antonello Giannelli, president of the National Association of Headteachers, commented on the case of the history textbook published by Laterza and criticised by Fratelli d’Italia, which has once again become the subject of debate and political controversy after having already come under the spotlight in June last year.

At the heart of the matter is a passage in the textbook Trame del tempo 3, published by the well-known Apulian publishing house, which refers to the Meloni government as an executive that “stands out for implementing measures that are clearly repressive”. The passage in question states that the current government “came to power for the first time a century after the March on Rome and seventy-seven years after the Liberation from fascism”; it is “the party that has taken up its legacy and which continues to maintain close ties with its avowedly fascist ‘base’ – as also demonstrated by Fanpage’s June 2024 investigation ‘Gioventù meloniana’”. It goes on to state that the government “stands out for implementing openly freedom-suppressing measures, such as the so-called ‘Security’ bill of September 2024, which significantly curtails the right to protest”. Finally, according to the textbook, the Meloni government is waging “a war on migrants with renewed fervour, with plans for deportation and their constant criminalisation in the media”. 

According to the Minister for Education, Giuseppe Valditara, the textbook should be withdrawn from sale. “It contains statements that are entirely manipulative and unreliable. I believe it is in the publisher’s own best interests, to safeguard the scientific reputation of its publishing house, to withdraw a text which, from a scientific point of view, is entirely inadequate and which risks being used to indoctrinate students.” Laterza, however, has stated its opposition. "I do not think it is appropriate for a history book to venture into political assessments of the government in office. That is not history but current affairs; it is political debate, and there is another forum for that – not a history book that is subsequently adopted by schools," observes Giannelli, whilst acknowledging the legitimacy of Laterza’s decision not to backtrack. “That would be censorship. You cannot tell someone what they must or must not publish. A person is free to write whatever they like; if anyone believes there are defamatory passages, they are free to file a lawsuit or take the matter to the relevant authorities.”

You can write, and you can buy too. “Just don’t buy books that contain certain things,” adds the president. “There is a very clear – and indeed open – procedure laid down by our education system concerning the approval and adoption of a textbook, which is entrusted precisely to the teaching staff. It is up to the teachers’ discretion to adopt one book rather than another.” So was Valditara wrong to call for its removal? "The minister is, after all, a political authority. Whilst on the one hand he administers the education system, on the other he remains a politician with a legitimate vision which, within the current majority, has been legitimised by the majority of those who turned out to vote," replies Giannelli. "I have nothing to say on this matter."

Not even teachers and pupils—who are always very active in taking to the streets to protest against political interference in the classroom—will have spotted it. “It probably went a bit unnoticed. That book will have been assessed correctly in other respects,” concludes the president of the National Association of Headteachers.