Italy: Meloni under investigation
Italian prosecutors are investigating Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other members of her cabinet in connection with the release and repatriation of a Libyan police official who is wanted for war crimes by the international criminal court (ICC). Meloni explained in a video message that she is suspected of aiding and abetting a crime, among other things, but she is not obliged to resign and will "not be blackmailed or intimidated".
Resorting to Berlusconi's tactics
La Repubblica explains why Meloni reacted with a vociferous video:
“The video in which Giorgia Meloni announces the investigation against her for aiding and abetting crime and embezzlement is undoubtedly a skilful propaganda move. ... The real inspiration here is the Berlusconi of yesteryear, who was a master in casting himself as a victim of justice. You don't talk about what actually happened but attack the public prosecutors instead. ... Meloni could have relied on the Ministerial Tribunal [responsible for offences committed by members of the government in the performance of their duties] to investigate the case. ... But since she has chosen a different path, namely a direct confrontation with another state authority, it is clear that there is something else going on here.”
An increasingly toxic relationship
Relations between the government and the judiciary were already strained, Avvenire points out:
“The launch of such an explosive investigation, first and foremost because of the names involved, comes at a time when relations between the executive and the judiciary are already extremely tense (which has been the case quite often since 1992). The fact is that the level of the confrontation that was already underway has gone up another notch, and no one knows if, when or how the relations can be brought back within an institutional dynamic that is less toxic than that described daily in the news.”