Erika Malandra Silence falls in the Chamber, but it doesn't last long. The applause, the real one, explodes only when Matteo Renzi quotes De André. Sharp words, as always: “Seeing this man dying, mother I feel pain, mother I have learned love”. For a moment, politics stops. Or so it seems.
The government commemorates Pope Francis: between controversies and gestures of political distance
The rest of the commemoration of the government for Pope Francesco? It's a minefield. The parliamentarians gathered to pay homage to the late Pontiff, but the cracks are evident. Elly Schlein makes no concessions, she speaks of hypocrisy, she denounces those who celebrate him today but yesterday ignored his calls. And while she closes her speech, Giorgia Meloni covers her face with her hand. One gesture, just one, but it says it all.
Giuseppe Conte also takes a long shot, then sinks. He accuses of “empty talk”, he accuses those who preached hatred, those who spoke of war without listening to the man who spoke of peace every day. “It is a disordered theater of hypocrisy”, he whispers and for many, the term remains fixed in their heads.
In the corridors of Parliament, where deputies meet between sessions, the air is light, perhaps even too light. Some joke, some send selfies with the line: 'You're the only one missing from the conclave'. The required sobriety? It slips away, but then they return to the Chamber, all composed, or almost.
Pope Francis and the Government: Between Commemorations, Political Differences and Applause
Fontana defines Pope Francesco “shepherd among the people”. La Russa celebrates him for his courage, his voice for justice. The minute of silence lengthens. It becomes applause. Long, full. Standing ovation.
Then comes the distances, the Democratic Party also applauds representatives of Fratelli d'Italia and Lega. Not Gasparri. His speech is a reply. Sharp. It sinks, "the many hypocrisies" of those who quote Francis but have never really listened to him.
Schlein attacks on the climate, on migrants, on the care denied to the poor. Conte vindicates his words on the pandemic, on Gaza. “No one saves themselves alone,” he recalls.
Meloni is the last. Standing, between Salvini and Tajani. She tells of a private, direct Francis. A Pope who “broke the mold.” Her last piece of advice? “Never lose your sense of humor.” She smiles.
Renzi, in the middle, hits everyone. Left and right. He quotes “Tito’s Testament”. He accuses those who forget, those who distort, those who commemorate only for convenience. Pharisees, he calls them.
Politics and the government say hello Pope Francesco. But, as always, he does it his own way.