We should have imagined that one day we would see a minister hijacking a public service news programme to tell us about her extramarital affairs: it wasn’t long before we were spending our days talking about the Prime Minister’s boyfriend, and she was even more interested in telling us about it, announcing the end of the relationship on her official social channels. Moreover, we witnessed with calm and composure the actions of ministers who went beyond their prerogatives to make the weather better or worse (we hope we remember Valditara, who tried to limit the academic autonomy of an institute in northern Italy), or who remained in office despite being under investigation for false accounting. So why should we be surprised by the worthless use of public television and the Italians’ dirty interest in gossip?

The transformation of television into a state broadcaster happened without much debate and certainly without much heat (and, frankly, without any effect): we saw it happen and we allowed it. Instead of talking about which politicians dress how they do or who they take to bed, it is well known and skillfully exploited by the politicians themselves; with the Italians being completely ignorant of the duties of the representative of the institutions and the general functioning of our Republic.

Fake interview

Otherwise, how could the obscene episode that happened on TG1 last night have happened? Instead of going to Parliament as required by practice (and therefore getting to know the institutions to a minimum), the Minister is occupying the news to give “interviews”; or rather, to be able to say whatever he wants without any urgent questions, any criticisms, any objections. This clearly allows him to skip some details and tell the story in his own way: the death of journalism. He says he did not spend public money to pay this consultant/non-consultant, but there is no normal country where a citizen can trust what a minister says just because he pretends to speak frankly: documents are needed and the evidence must be presented to Parliament.

The interviewer states that there is nothing prurient about his investigation into the relationship between the minister and the woman: the Italians have a right to know. But then he asks her if she fears that something compromising might come out. This gives the minister the opportunity to show himself as a man like the rest, one of us, in short, a soft-hearted person who has succumbed to a human and perfectly understandable impulse. The house-sized conflict of interest that might arise if a minister were to employ someone with whom he has a close relationship as an advisor does not seem to worry him much.

Using pathos to attract people’s sympathy

As if that wasn’t enough, we also found ourselves enduring emotional declarations of love and pain. my mistake against the most important woman in his life, his wife (for me, those were the most painful three minutes of the last year). OK, we’ve been imitating the US for decades, but I don’t know if I’m ready for an Italian version of Oprah.

A few words must also be said about Ms. Boccia, who made videos as if she were a tourist inside the Montecitorio building – all that was missing was her selfie with the hashtag #cameradeideputati – and who is now being interviewed by anyone on any subject, clearly taking advantage of the popularity of the moment; she did not even miss the reference that the powerful forces “did not say anything” and were blackmailing the minister.

But in the end we should not care much about him, even if respect for institutions is so ingrained in us that it makes us feel a deep sense of disgust and annoyance (but I am a dreamer). Instead, we should care a lot about who represents the State, and not in the sense that we have to sit with popcorn and listen to his painful confessions of love: the State is ours, and if someone uses it for the State. let him do his own thing, we should be very angry. It is hoped that the opposition will do its job at least this time, because if we surrender once more, if we leave it alone once more, we will really be sealing the fate of the Republic.