Meloni accuses Rome book fair of censorship over 'anti-fascist licence' for publishers
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says requiring publishers to sign an anti-fascist declaration to exhibit at Rome's 'Più libri più liberi' fair is 'censorship' and incompatible with democracy.
The new requirement
The fair 'Più libri più liberi', dedicated to small and medium publishing, will take place in Rome. This year, publishers must obtain an 'anti-fascist licence' by signing a specific declaration to participate. The organisers introduced the measure after a dispute involving one exhibitor.
Meloni's reaction
In a post on X, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sharply criticised the requirement, accusing the left of disguising censorship as anti-fascist struggle.
To participate in the small and medium publishing fair 'Più libri più liberi', which will take place in Rome, publishers will have to obtain the 'anti-fascist licence' by signing a specific declaration. This is how the left conceives freedom of thought: you are free, but only if you say what they allow you to say, think what they think, read what they deem appropriate. The erasure of non-left ideas, disguised as anti-fascist struggle, is an old vice of the left, but it's a story that no one believes anymore. It is called, simply, censorship. And censorship is incompatible with any democratic society.
The controversy's roots
The dispute began after publisher Passaggio al Bosco took part in the fair. Some authors and cultural workers accused the publisher of having a catalogue close to neo-fascist circles and asked the Italian Publishers Association for clarification. According to Il Giornale, to avoid further polemics the organisation considered a self-certification anti-fascist code for future editions, asking publishers to sign a declaration of adherence to anti-fascist principles before exhibiting.
