Marcello Foa, a Eurosceptic journalist who has often shared stories proved to be fake, has been appointed president of Italian public broadcaster Radiotelevisione Italiana SPA (Rai), in a move that has raised fears over its autonomy.
Foa, who also holds anti-gay, anti-immigration, anti-vaccine and pro-Russia views, was pushed for the role by the governing coalition of the far-right League and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, despite concerns from journalists’ unions.
The parliamentary committee that oversees Rai late on Wednesday voted in favor of Foa after former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party dropped its opposition to his candidacy.
Foa, 55, earlier told the committee that “Rai must promote an authentic political, cultural and religious pluralism, and in respect for all.”
A former journalist with Berlusconi’s Il Giornale newspaper, he added that the mandate received from the government is “professional” and not “political.”
“I have never served any political party or sought support for my career… The mandate appeals to my professional career; I intend to honor it in the name of journalistic values,” he said.
Rai’s journalist union, USIGRai, had urged the committee to carry out an “in-depth assessment to ensure the legitimacy” of the candidate.
Fake stories shared by Foa included one during the 2016 US presidential election campaign about former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton participating in satanic dinners and another about a supposed plan to overthrow US President Donald Trump.
He has also said that being gay is abnormal and that giving babies vaccines could provoke a “shock” in the child.
He has expressed admiration for former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and in the past has collaborated with the state-funded Russian news outlets RT and Sputnik.
Industry sources said that Foa’s appointment is likely to prompt journalists at Rai to resign in protest.
“They fear the loss of freedom,” one source said.
Many speculate that Foa’s appointment was made possible after Berlusconi struck a deal with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini ensuring that his business interests would be protected from government interference.
Berlusconi owns the rival media empire Mediaset.
It could also be linked to upcoming regional elections, in which Forza Italia is to compete as part of a center-right coalition with the League and Brothers of Italy.
“Foa won the vote because of the Berlusconi accord,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Before the vote, Five Star leader Luigi di Maio said that Foa is an independent journalist.
When Foa was first mooted in July, Di Maio said he would help purge the “parasites” installed by mainstream parties who had led Rai for decades.
“[Five Star’s] election campaign spoke about ‘no more conflict of interest’ and ‘no more Berlusconi,’ then this happens,” the source said. “Unfortunately, that’s what populist movements are like.”
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