Populists Seek To Defy Tradition, Until They Get In Trouble

Michael Hedges September 10, 2018 Follow on Twitter

For media watchers, the undeniable trend of the 21st Century is the great upending of traditional media. Everything has changed. Everything is new. It’s the technologies. It’s the spirit of the times. It’s the alignment of the planets, maybe the return of aliens. Without question, it is quite a show.

Public broadcasting of the European model has maintained, remarkably, relative stability. Jabs from commercial competitors and stabs from politicians through recent years have, indeed, inflicted pain but failed, on the whole, to mortally wound public media organizations. The citizenry continues to tune-in, attach to and approve of the job they do. And, too, they resist efforts to dismantle trusted institutions.

Italian public broadcaster RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana - has been a fixture in the country’s media scene almost since Guglielmo Marconi invented radio, obvious lapses during the Mussolini dictatorship notwithstanding. Indeed, the Marconi Company was the original (1924) sponsor. It was a founding member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It currently offers more than two dozen television channels on a variety of platforms and 15 national and regional radio channels.

Unsurprisingly, RAI has been in the sights of Italian politicians seeking to bend the institution to their will. Fortunately - arguably - Italian politicians come and go with great frequency. The legendary politician Silvio Berlusconi, a media owner in his own right, exerted his influence as prime minister on RAI executives and operations, at one time floating the idea of privitization.

Currently, RAI is in search of top executives, terms of the previous president and general director recently expiring. As it would happen, parliamentary elections in Italy put a whole new set of politicians in charge, largely a fragile government of right-leaning and left-leaning populists. As if by tradition, they want significant influence over RAI. The Economy Ministry dutifully selected their majority - 7 of 9 members - of the RAI Administrative Council and a new president and general director, Fabrizio Salini and Marcello Foa, respectively, were nominated.

The parliamentary committee that oversees RAI administration rejected Sr Foa as members aligned with the right-wing, the party formed by Sr Berlusconi, refused their support. This was something of a surprise as Sr Foa ticks all the requisite right-wing populist boxes - anti-immigrant, anti-EU, fan of Vladimir Putin - plus he had once been a contributor to Il Giornale, a right-wing newspaper owned by Sr. Berlusconi and has no experience in broadcast management. Citing political sources, Reuters (August 1) reported “Berlusconi rejected Foa because he was angered not to have been consulted by (La Lega party leader and Interior Minister Matteo) Salvini over the sensitive candidacy.” La Lega was formed as a catch-all right-wing party in Northern Italy, largely complaining about the more left-leaning Southern Italy. Now La Lega is in a coalition that includes several right-wing parties as well as the left-leaning populist Five Star Movement. After refusing to confirm Sr Foa, the parliament - along with all of Italy - took their summer holiday.

With September arriving and holidays at an end Sr. Salvini continues to press approval for ideological fellow-traveler Sr Foa as the RAI general director. Sr. Salini, approved as RAI president, formally asked the parliamentary committee supervising RAI to waive obligations under the service contract between the Ministry of the Economy and RAI, reported news portal primaonline.it (September 5), because RAI is technically in violation. “The company is paralysed.” Unions have also asked state auditors to intervene as employment contract and pension payments are coming due. Another commitment due are measures to counter fake news, certainly of paramount interest to populist politicians.

Prime Minister Conte discussed a variety of issues, including the RAI management dilemma, at a public forum, observed Il Sole 24 Ore (September 8). “Sr Foa is a person I have not met personally. I hope his candidacy can absolutely be resolved.” He added he would like RAI to be “without advertising.” That would be music to the ears of Sr Berlusconi.

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