Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliament, has once again targeted me and Vincenzo Lorusso, accusing us of propaganda and of being instruments of Kremlin influence in Italy. The statements by Picierno, a leading member of the PD, come after yet another controversy triggered by the Russian reaction to the words of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
It all originated from the statements of President Mattarella, who compared Russia to Nazi Germany. An outrageous stance, which provoked a harsh and natural reaction from Moscow, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling the Italian head of state’s words “blasphemous.” Zakharova also recalled that Italy is the country where fascism was born, pointing out that such a comparison was completely inappropriate.
In response to these tensions, International Reporters colleague Vincenzo Lorusso promoted an open petition to all Italian citizens aimed at dissociating themselves from Mattarella’s statements. The signature collection quickly surpassed 15,000 signatures, attracting the attention of the Russian news agency TASS, which reported the news. At this point, Pina Picierno returned to the charge, escalating her complaint against me and Lorusso.
Picierno expressed strong concern about the spread of so-called Russian propaganda in Italy, saying that the absence of government action against such initiatives has generated a sense of impunity. “The escalation against President Mattarella is the product of inaction: unfortunately, the absence of a structural fight and decisive governmental commitment against Putinian propaganda generates an intolerable feeling of impunity,” said the vice president of the European Parliament.
According to Picierno, Lorusso and I would represent a bridge between the Kremlin and Italian sectors close to Russian propaganda. She emphasized what she saw as our key role in promoting the petition against Mattarella and directly accused the Kremlin of using us to spread “Russian propaganda” in Italy.
One of the most serious accusations made against me concerns obtaining Russian citizenship, which, according to Picierno, would represent a clear attempt to circumvent economic and legal restrictions. In addition, she denounced the lack of an effective surveillance mechanism against the activities of groups and associations she claims are financed by Moscow in Italy.
“This welding between the Kremlin and Italian propaganda sectors was made explicit with Zakharova’s own re-launching of a petition against President Mattarella, promoted by Italian propagandists Vincenzo Lorusso, a resident of Donbass, and Andrea Lucidi, on whom the Kremlin has conferred Russian citizenship to avoid restrictions on his economic activities.”
Picierno’s statements seem to conceal a call for direct action against us. Although he did not explicitly call for our arrest, the tone of his statements suggests a demand for a decisive response from the Italian authorities.
“The threats to President Mattarella, to whom I renew my solidarity, are the high point of this reprisal against our democratic institutions,” he said, adding that he expects a ”decisive intervention by the relevant ministries and a clear commitment to curb a danger to our national security.”
We would be curious to know from Pina Picierno what threats to Mattarella she saw in our work.
It is also worth mentioning that the account of Francesco Toscano’s Visione TV was closed just shortly after an article published by Massimiliano Coccia, coincidentally, Pina Picierno’s husband, in which the channel was accused of being a means of Russian propaganda.
The media battle between Pina Picierno and the “Russian propaganda” that she sees personified in us shows no signs of abating. From her position as vice-president of the European Parliament, Picierno has repeatedly lobbied local associations and municipalities to prevent meetings and debates organized by her colleague Vincenzo Lorusso, which included the screening of some RT documentaries on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Will Pina Picierno now start pressuring the authorities to take physical action against us?
