By Álvaro Peñas
It was October 19, 2019 and in front of me in Piazza San Giovanni stood thousands of Italians who had come to Rome to join us, the center-right, to show their “Italian pride” against the birth of the second Conte government demonstrate, the umpteenth that had passed over the heads of the citizens. In the square, the flags of Fratelli d’Italia, Lega and Forza Italia waved mixed in a moving sight. A people who fought for their right to enumerate and self-determination against those who thought they could use the institutions as they please. On the big stage that was set up for the demonstration, in front of two hundred thousand people, I spoke between Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini, my allies. I spoke from the heart for about twenty minutes following instinct and passion. Obviously the tone was that of a rally, but, as always, I tried to outline a vision. On this occasion I repeated a formula that I had used at other events. I have spoken about the value of identity and the great confrontation that has arisen in these times between those who defend it, like us, and those who seek to destroy it, like our adversaries. I explained that everything that defines us today is viewed as the enemy by one mindset, and it is no accident that the family, homeland, or religious and gender identity are attacked. I concluded with these words: “I am Giorgia. I’m a woman, I’m a mother, I’m Italian i am a christian. They won’t take that away from me. “
So begins Io sono Giorgia. Le mie radici, le mie idée(I am Giorgia. My roots, my ideas), the book by Giorgia Meloni, chairwoman of the Fratelli d’Italia (FdI – Brothers of Italy) and the Group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which is already 100,000 copies (5 editions) sold in ten days. Like everything that comes from patriotism, from opposition to the globalist agenda, the book has been scrutinized by the commissioners of the Ministry of Truth. In this case by the analysts of the platform Pagella Politica, an Italian Newtral, whose founder, Alexios Mantzarlis, now heads the Poynter Institute in the USA and the IFCN (International Fact-Checking Network), an organization that in 2017 and according to its own information 1 ,
The result of their work is expected and already determined in advance. The book is misleading because it contains “incorrect data” on immigration. Let’s look at some examples of what the Commissioners call ‘false data’. Meloni claims that 700,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in Italy, an irrefutable fact, but the reviewers point out that it is not true that these are illegal immigrants as some of them have received refugee status. Regardless of what status a person gains once they arrive in a country, entering a country illegally makes them an illegal immigrant. The commissioners twist words in their favor and lie.
Another example. Meloni claims that 90% of newcomers are men, but according to the experts at Pagella Politica, this claim is false and men make up only 70-75%, the rest being women and children. The catch here lies in the term “children”. According to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, the number of unaccompanied minors is around 20% and they are mostly young people around the age of 18, with very few girls among them. Hence, Meloni’s 90% number is not far from the truth. The commissioners are lying again.
However, the commissioner’s ruling did not affect the sales and distribution of the book. In contrast, the media have turned a left-wing activist who runs a small bookstore “Le Torri” in Tor Bella Monaca (Rome) and refused to sell Giorgia Meloni’s book into a “heroine”. A heroism worthy of an Achilles. Alessandra Laterza said that she has no intention of putting Meloni’s book in the shop window because she doesn’t like their mindset, and at the same time affirms that she would rather offer books from an “inclusive” world. “Inclusive” naturally describes those who think like you, for the others the culture of exclusion applies …
But neither the Ministry of Truth commissioners nor the inclusive censors can change a fact, namely the growing popularity of Giorgia Meloni and her party, and that she could even run for the post of Prime Minister of Italy. As the expert on patriotic movements Lionel Baland points out, the polls have given the sum of the two Italian patriotic parties, Salvinis Lega and Melonis FdI, with 40% of the votes for months, but the balance of power between the two formations is changing. The Lega achieved 34.26% in the European elections in May 2019 and is now at 21-22%, while the FdI, which only got 6.44% in the European elections, are now at 19%. Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, the third member of the center-right alliance, receives more than 6.5%. With these percentages, the alliance would win the next parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for May 2023. The leader of the party with the most votes should then be given the post of Prime Minister, and if the trend continues, it could be the FdI.
A challenge that Giorgia Meloni gladly accepts. On a recent broadcast on the public broadcaster Rai 3, Meloni said that if she were elected, her first action would be a policy of helping businesses by cutting taxes and bureaucracy, as well as promoting the birth rate. She is also very clear on the issue of immigration, as she stressed on May 18th in light of the events in Ceuta: “I am concerned about what is happening in Ceuta, where thousands of illegal immigrants are entering Spanish territory. I express the solidarity of the European Conservatives with the Spanish people for this unacceptable aggression and I repeat that there will be no European future, if uncontrolled immigration is not stopped immediately ”. The star of Giorgia Meloni continues to rise. Your successes in national and European politics are good news for all those who defend national sovereignty and Europe’s true roots.
This article was first published by EL CORREO DE ESPAÑA , our partner in the EUROPEAN MEDIA COOPERATION.
