by InTrieste
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faced criticism on Tuesday after an off-air remark in Washington suggested she had little desire to engage with Italian journalists, prompting opposition leaders and press freedom advocates to accuse her of showing contempt for the media.
The incident occurred during a White House meeting on Ukraine peace efforts that included President Donald J. Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and several European leaders. In a light exchange after the talks, Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, asked Mr. Trump if he interacted with the press daily. When Mr. Trump confirmed, Ms. Meloni interjected: “But he loves it. I never want to speak with my press!”
The comment, picked up by microphones after the formal meeting, quickly drew a backlash in Italy.
The Italian National Press Federation, the country’s main journalists’ union, said Ms. Meloni’s remark confirmed a longstanding reluctance to face questions from reporters. “It is well known that the prime minister dislikes journalists,” said Alessandra Costante, the federation’s secretary general. “She has replaced press conferences with online monologues without cross-examination. Propaganda, not information.”
Carlo Calenda, leader of the centrist Azione party, said in a post on X that the remark was particularly damaging when made in front of Mr. Trump. “The leader of a democratic country isn’t afraid of the press,” he wrote. “Saying ‘I never want to speak to the Italian press’ to an aspiring autocrat who compiles journalist blacklists every day is even more serious.”
Angelo Bonelli of the Green and Left Alliance accused Ms. Meloni of “shirking the role that journalists have in a democracy: that of asking questions and holding the government accountable for its decisions.”
Riccardo Magi, secretary of the Più Europa party, argued that the off-camera exchange showed “her total contempt for the press and freedom of information.”
Silvia Fregolent, a senator with the centrist Italia Viva party, told the newspaper La Stampa that Ms. Meloni’s comment reflected a deeper unwillingness to face scrutiny. “A prime minister who runs away from journalists also runs away from citizens,” she said.
Ms. Meloni has often favored video messages and prepared statements over press conferences, with the exception of an annual year-end event. While she has defended this approach as a way to speak directly to Italians, critics say it allows her to avoid unscripted exchanges with the press.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
