A handshake as soon as they entered the room. A look and the words of Roberto Saviano to Minister Matteo Salvini: «Shame on you», to which the leader of the League replies telegraphically: «We're off to a good start».

The duel took place before the sole judge of Rome, in the trial in which the writer is accused of defamation, after a complaint filed in June 2018 by the then head of the Viminale. A judicial affair linked to a series of posts that the writer published on social media and in one of which he defined the then Minister of the Interior as "the minister of the underworld".

Definition he would reuse: "A phrase that maestro Gaetano Salvemini used and I believe - explained Saviano - that I have every right to use this paradigm to criticize Salvini". "He is rude, but it is certainly not a crime", was the deputy prime minister's reply in court, who then doubled down on social media: Saviano "in court hid behind a quote from Salvemini and tried to turn it into a racket by talking about his escort. He confirmed himself as a spiteful insulter".

The exchange does not end here. The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport has in fact reiterated his desire to move forward with the proceedings and not to withdraw the complaint. "I found those posts offensive as a minister, as a citizen, as a party secretary. I am used to political criticism, but expressions such as 'friend of the 'ndrangheta' are not." Responding to questions from Deputy Prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco, the leader of the Northern League claimed that with those words Saviano wanted to "refer to a contiguity with the 'ndrangheta that horrifies me." The former head of the Ministry of the Interior then reiterated his position in the fight against the clans.

"My priority was the fight against the mafia," he added. "Those posts were widely circulated, as Saviano was followed by millions of people. Heavy and unfounded expressions."

On the controversy over the escorts, the minister added that "like the defendant, I have been living under escort for years. I do not consider it a privilege. As a minister, I have done nothing harmful to Saviano." For his part, Saviano, in a long statement in court, returned to attack the minister, speaking of "the alarm raised by the Anac on criminal appetites and the concrete risks of mafia infiltration in the management of the works for the Bridge over the Strait, a project to which Salvini wants to associate his name." Then the attack: "Criminal organizations will toast when the first stone is laid." On the deposition of the leader of the Carroccio, leaving Piazzale Clodio, he added: "He shocked me because he did not remember, he omitted: he stammered something about the escorts, which for him was a political evaluation. The absurd thing is that the figure of a politician who does and says things without thinking has emerged," concluded the writer.

(Online Union)

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