Meloni responds to critics who accuse him of embodying “patriarchal culture”

ITALY – Don’t talk to Meloni about feminism… but don’t talk to him about patriarchy either. The feminicide of young Giulia Cecchettin, the 83rd of the year in Italy, has moved the country for several weeks, with demonstrations planned across the country this week. A social subject which puts far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, from the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party, in the hot seat.

The one whose slogan is fascist “God, family, country” was singled out by the Italian presenter Lilli Gruber, who wondered if she did not embody a form of “ patriarchal culture “. On the set of his show Otto and mezzowhose audiences exceed a million viewers each evening, the former MEP from the Democratic Party was particularly critical.

“ We cannot deny that there is a strong patriarchal culture in Italy and that the right in power does not really oppose it. “, she commented, before questioning her interlocutor: “ For the first time, we have a woman Prime Minister who nevertheless insists on being called “The Prime Minister”, it is a mystery of faith for me, but it is also the incarnation of a right-wing patriarchal culture… »

The response from Giorgia Meloni, who describes herself as a “woman, mother and Christian”, was not long in coming. On her social networks, she shared a photo taken a few years ago in which she poses with her newborn daughter, her mother and her grandmother.

“ The new bizarre thesis supported by Lilli Gruber on her show last night is that I am the expression of a patriarchal culture. As you can clearly see in this photo which represents four generations of “patriarchal culture” in my family”quips Giorgia Meloni, accusing Lilli Gruber of exploiting the feminicide of Giulia Cecchettin.

“ The right to free and critical thought is always well protected”

The head of government received the support of several ministers, including that of Francesco Lollobrigida, her brother-in-law, who made a point of greeting on Radio 1 a Prime Minister who broke the ” glass ceiling “.

An argument which has its limits as Giorgia Meloni herself never spoke of her election as a “feminist victory”. As Vittoria Baldino, the vice-president of the Five Star Movement in the Assembly, did not fail to remind us, Giorgia Meloni has, on the other hand, already called on women “not to put yourself in a position to be raped”, implying that the victims are partly responsible.

“I am thinking of the concept of women as incubators of children in the service of the “nation” who, in the words of the Prime Minister herself, “make an essential contribution to society”, added Vittoria Baldino to the Corriere Della Sera. “I am thinking of the total indifference towards any form of salary and economic discrimination between women and men. »

This weekend, the main opponent of the government, the “anti-Meloni” Elly Schlein, pushed to put back on the table a proposal from the Democratic Party aimed at establishing emotional education courses in schools. Will it be heard? Giorgia Meloni promised an awareness campaign at school level, and recalled that the bill against gender violence would be debated in the Senate on Wednesday.

Lilli Gruber, for her part, responded to Giorgia Meloni, to thank her for this “ attack » personal which she sees as a “ desire to open a constructive dialogue with the press, an exercise in democracy to which it is not accustomed”. And the presenter added: “It is always dangerous, for the proper functioning of democracy, for a Prime Minister to directly attack the press and individual journalists. Fortunately, the right to free and critical thought is still well protected by our Constitution. »

Also see on HuffPost :