The announcement stunned Italy. In a message published jointly on Facebook and “My relationship with Andrea Giambruno, which lasted almost ten years, is over (…). Our paths have diverged for some time, and the time has come to take note”, writes the head of the Italian government. The few lines are accompanied by a smiling photo of the couple and their daughter, Ginevra, aged 7.
According to several Italian newspapers, the breakup seemed to have been complete for several weeks, but this surprising confession, which reached all Italian homes, is only the latest chapter in one of those political-media sequences that Italy loves. In recent days, it has taken on the appearance of a soap opera, mixing public words with an atmosphere of telenovelas..
In this Italian political life which sometimes borders on the grand guignol, the nationalist government led by the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party fuels satirical programs. According to René Alviero, specialist in misappropriation and parody of politicians or journalists (he is behind the “Il Grande Flagello” account on the social network X), “this right-wing government is a unique source of inspiration, with its cookie-cutter slogans” and the Meloni-Giambruno affair adds a touch of celebrity psychodrama.
“Keyhole politics”
It was a macho and gritty slip from Andrea Giambruno that pushed the president of the board to take the lead by posting her breakup message. In a sequence broadcast by “Striscia la notizia”, a very popular satirical program from the Canale 5 channel, owned by the Berlusconi family, the journalist from Rete 4, (another private channel of the Mediaset empire in the hands of the Berlusconi), we see him, on the sidelines of a recording, heavily approaching one of the assistants on set. ” What’s your name ? Do we already know each other? Where have I seen you before? Was I drunk? », he says before continuing: “You know that me and [nom censuré] have a relationship? All of Mediaset knows it, and now you too. Now we’re looking for a threesome. »
“This gives an idea of the level of the debates, we are really in keyhole politics”deplores Aldo Grasso, professor of communication at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan and daily editorialist Corriere della Sera. According to him, the “off-mic” has continued to pollute the Italian political field for half a century. But it was the advent of Silvio Berlusconi in politics which created the framework for this excessive and touting speech to reach new heights.. “We are a continuation of what Italian politics has been doing since 1994 and the triumphant arrival of Silvio Berlusconi. Television has ceased to be a platform and has become a political weapon.continues Aldo Grasso.
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