At the beginning it was a “Happy Ferragosto to everyone!” and “be happy with your families and the people you love”. Signed, a Giorgia Meloni in the pool, barely recognizable: almost immersed in the water and with her daughter Ginevra pulled up suddenly, for fun. Palm trees in the background and both super smiling. But the photo-postcard sent via social media from the Apulian farmhouse where the Prime Minister returned for her very private holidays, intersects with a post full of compliments that Massimo Boldi addresses to her. “You are stronger and stronger and you are changing our country for the better,” the actor launches. And suddenly there is a clash.
Boldi is bombarded with criticism, insults and offenses. The post disappears. But it does not escape the Prime Minister who the next day returns to social media, defends the comedian and attacks the haters. “It is sad to see how, in the world of professional haters – he denounces – even a simple comment of happy Ferragosto greetings can unleash mass insults and gratuitous offenses”. Then he sends a hug to the ‘historic’ Cipollino. From August peace to the war of the web, in less than 24 hours. Power of the virtual world that from a showcase of selfies, greetings and relaxation, can transform into an arena for accusations and gratuitous offenses. In the face of the silence and the exhausting counter-hour of the south, or the closure of the buildings of politics in the Capital.
Locked up for days with her family in the Beneficio farmhouse in Ceglie Messapica, in the Itria Valley, Meloni is following foreign and domestic politics from there. Compatible with the Internet connection, not always reliable in the countryside of Brindisi. Hence the IT technicians who were seen entering the resort. However, the prime minister breaks the silence on August 15 and reappears with a post. Among the thousands of comments there is also Boldi. And he stands out for his authorship and emphasis: «Happy Ferragosto beloved Giorgia, our President of the Council of the Republic, you are stronger and stronger and you are changing our country for the better – is the praise of the star of the cinepanettoni – And I can do nothing but thank you». But the wrath of the web is falling on him for his honeyed words. There are those who accuse him of looking for a job at Rai, those who say that his posts are funnier than his films and those who invite him to keep quiet. He deletes everything, but the text – thanks to the ruthless power of screenshots – remains and spreads quickly on the web. The Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanché, sides with Boldi, summarizing the ‘comedian’s fault’ as follows: «It is forbidden to praise Meloni», because «if someone publicly praises the prime minister, they can only do so at their own risk». Susanna Ceccardi, a Northern League MEP, also goes on the attack: «Why is it that if a famous actor endorses a left-wing caviar exponent, no one gets indignant – is her reasoning – on the contrary, he appears chic and committed? Why, on the contrary, if a legend of Italian cinema like Massimo Boldi praises Giorgia Meloni, keyboard warriors immediately come to offend and mock?».
Controversy aside, the masseria remains off limits. Today in Ceglie they celebrate San Rocco, an occasion perhaps to ‘flush out’ the illustrious guest. In the afternoon two boys on horseback tried to knock on the resort. Available, if the prime minister wanted, to take her and her daughter for a ride in their carriage, through the countryside of Ceglie.
