Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accused several Italian media outlets of attempting to link her to organised crime. They published a photograph showing her with an alleged criminal figure.
In a statement, Meloni said what she described as a “single newsroom” made up of Il Fatto Quotidiano, La Repubblica, Fanpage.it and the television programme Report had circulated the image to suggest proximity to criminal environments.
She also criticised what she called attempts to connect the photograph to events involving her father. Meloni said she had broken off relations with him at the age of 11. Furthermore, she argued that the image was simply one of many taken with members of the public during her political career.
“In decades of political engagement there are tens of thousands of photos of me with people who simply ask for a selfie,” she said. She challenged critics to find statements in which she had attacked other political figures in similar circumstances.
Defending government’s record on organised crime
Meloni defended her government’s record on organised crime, describing her commitment against mafia groups as “clear, consistent and long-standing”. She said the administration had strengthened the use of the strict prison regime known as 41-bis. The PM further contrasted this with decisions taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, when some detainees linked to organised crime were temporarily released for health reasons.
The prime minister also accused the media outlets of conducting politically motivated attacks rather than journalism. She said the aim was to “throw mud” and amplify party interests. Meloni added that she would not be intimidated by what she described as bad-faith criticism.
The controversy follows longstanding public scrutiny of Meloni’s family background. Her father, Francesco Meloni, was convicted in Spain in the 1990s for drug trafficking. The prime minister has previously addressed this by stressing she had no relationship with him from childhood and that his actions played no role in her political life.
Recently members of her Brothers of Italy have resigned over connections with a restaurant owned by a mafia boss’s daughter.
