Meloni occupies Rai, a spot on 'Domenica In' for the "absent-hand" Prime Minister: pastries with Mara Venier are better than a conference.

Rather than a press conference, from which he has been absent for over 250 days, or an interview with some “complacent” newspaper, he preferred Maria Venier’s national-popular talk show on Rai1 , a guest appearance in which the most pointed question was: “Can you tell me your memory of Sunday lunch?”

This is the kind of TV that Giorgia Meloni likes, the Prime Minister who, from the youth party of the Brothers of Italy party, managed the masterpiece of denouncing how the majority of TV and press are lined up against her, while at lunchtime she appeared on ' Domenica In ' to chat with Mara Venier about Italian cuisine, all a week before the crucial regional vote in the Marche .

The occasion for the Prime Minister was the event organized by ministers Francesco Lollobrigida and Alessandro Giuli , in coordination with the ANCI, “Sunday lunch”, to boost the candidacy of Italian cuisine as a UNESCO heritage site.

Thus, flanked by a stunned mayor of Rome, Democratic Party member Roberto Gualtieri , and by Paolo Bonolis and Sabrina Ferilli , all overseen by the all-powerful Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gianmarco Mazzi, Meloni recounts her youth. "I spent Sunday lunch with my grandparents; it was all about pastries," the prime minister recounts on TV, particularly at ease answering "Aunt Maria," while the Italian press has been waiting over 250 days to ask the prime minister their questions at a special press conference.

Am I the only one who finds this stuff with Mara Venier on #TeleMeloni disturbing? Should we ask #Meloni about her memory of her lunch at #DomenicaIn ? I imagine these are the kind of questions that Giorgia, a mother and woman, answers with a tough and fearless attitude because "she cannot be blackmailed" like… pic.twitter.com/uuIO72co6S

— Ciro Pellegrino (@ciropellegrino) September 21, 2025

A charade that infuriated the opposition. The Democratic Party called Meloni's speech on Rai1 "a huge commercial." "Giorgia Meloni continues to refuse to come to Parliament to explain what Italy will do regarding the recognition of the State of Palestine and sanctions against the Israeli government. Yet she continues to find time to make election commercials on public service. Today she explains to us on RaiUno, the flagship channel of her TeleMeloni , which lunches and which pastries she prefers to eat on Sundays. All this while Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia announce their recognition of the State of Palestine and join the many other states trying to contribute to ending the illegal occupation of Gaza and the crimes of the Netanyahu government," is the accusation coming from Democratic Party Secretary Elly Schlein .

The members of the Five Star Movement on the Rai Supervisory Board, a commission blocked for over a year by the same right that does not have the numbers to elect Simona Agnes as president of the company, denounce how Rai has " hit rock bottom ", an "indecent operation, paid for with public service money, which is now no longer a service but an instrument of the regime ".

Rai responded with a "lunar" note in which it vindicated what was broadcast on Sunday, calling the program "a page of authentic public service in the story of culture, traditions, our industry and the promotion of Italy internationally."

The words spoken five years ago by Giorgia Meloni herself, then firmly in opposition to the Conte government, seem far removed. She spoke of "North Korea" and announced parliamentary questions and complaints to the AgCom (Italian National Agency for Communications) for Conte's appearance on 'Domenica In', even at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Five years ago, Meloni protested Conte's presence on #DomenicaIn at the height of the Covid emergency. "Welcome to North Korea," she announced, along with a complaint from AgCom and a question from the RAI Supervisory Authority. Today, however... pic.twitter.com/QkBQgQFPAU

— Giuseppe Candela (@GiusCandela) September 21, 2025

On the other hand, the prime minister's allergy to the press , or rather, to those not aligned with the right, is well known. She explained it herself during an off-camera comment captured by microphones while discussing with US President Donald Trump. "I never want to speak to the Italian press. It's better not to take questions," the prime minister whispered in Washington, as Trump's guest.