On Tuesday, when the clashes occurred, “I was not in Rome, otherwise I would have immediately gone to the Hill.” The silence that prevails between Palazzo Chigi and the Quirinale is simply a matter of agenda, because to Giorgia Meloni clarification with the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarellait is necessary, an inevitable step forward. But also, and this must be said, to remove more than one pebble from your shoes. And not with the Head of State, whom the Prime Minister reiterated – in a 20-minute conversation – that he had never had any doubts about loyalty and transparency: “there is no suspicion of a coup or Palace maneuvers, let us be clear”.
But to explain to the Head of State that the note written by the leader of the group in the Galeazzo Bignami Room did not attract the attention of the President – a leitmotif repeated by the Melonians all day on Tuesday – how much Francesco Saverio Garofaniadviser, very loyal to the President, whom the newspaper Maurizio Belpietro attributed to the expression of discord. It was reported in an email sent to several right-wing newspapers last Sunday, another part of a complicated affair that has wreaked havoc on the Quirinale-Palazzo Chigi route.
And it was precisely on the Advisor for Affairs of the Supreme Defense Council that most of the conversations between the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic were focused. Because, among Meloni’s objectives was to make the Head of State understand that the notes of the leader of the Fdi group, and behind him the entire party that started with him, were also designed to protect the Quirinale, “for which certain clumsy exits, at least not intentional, can only do harm”. In other words, “limit the story” leaving only Garofani in the crosshairs. And a rough press release from Colle returning, and read by Meloni while he was on his way to Predaia for the ribbon cutting, left him “completely speechless, shocked”.
Like the confession in question on the Corriere della Sera page, in an interview where Garofani stated that he was saddened by the use of the expression between friends, “free chat” with several trusted people (actually Fdi understands there are many more). And according to council members, he was convinced by the Head of State.
HONEST INTERVIEW
Words that soon monopolized the chatter of the Italian Brothers, flitting from one display to another at the intersection between the Palazzo Chigi, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the via della Scrofa, the party headquarters. It turned into another reason for Meloni to pick up the phone and request a meeting, taking the road to the Quirinale and speaking directly with Mattarella, without intermediaries and without mincing words. Honestly. Because a non-secondary fact for the prime minister and his loyalists is also the role that Garofani plays in the Colle room: the main pawn of the Supreme Defense Council in a geopolitical phase in which Italy – just imagine the war in Ukraine – is very exposed.
PRECEDENT
Therefore, at Colle Meloni, who together with his followers even imagined the council member taking a step back, gave a clear message: “We are loyal and we ask for loyalty.” Even more so because among the ranks of the Fdi Garofani – the three legislative bodies behind him in Margherita, for Melonians almost like a scarlet letter stuck to the chest – has been a target for some time: «For years, even before Meloni arrived at the Quirinale, he has been trying to destroy us», claim some big names in the party. Where there is still a belief that, despite Mattarella’s undoubted loyalty, in the Palace room that once belonged to the Pope, many are willing to fight to see the government sink, «because if Meloni wins the election in 2027, he will be the one who deals the cards at the Quirinale. And for many, that would mean game over.” «Everyone picks the wrong guy, sometimes I deserve a black belt in karate – Meloni jokes with his team – but if you make a mistake, you suffer the consequences. There are no worse bad guys than good guys forced to be bad.”
However, Mattarella does not doubt Garofani’s loyalty. Considered a reliable and correct person, the 63-year-old adviser to the Head of State – the relationship of the two for thirty years – would be a sin if careless, trusting some people who are considered affectionate, close. For Quirinale, and for Fdi, the story ends here. Now it would take the necessary time for the wound to heal.
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