On Friday, representatives of several Italian opposition parties occupied the press room of the Chamber of Deputies in Rome to prevent a conference on remigration from being held inside the building. The event had been organised by Domenico Furgiuele, a lawmaker from the right-wing Lega party.
Opposition lawmakers blocked access to the press room, preventing the event from going ahead at its original venue. Around an hour before the scheduled start, MPs from the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, and the Italian Socialist Party entered the room, declaring: “Fascists cannot enter the Chamber of Deputies because the constitution is anti-fascist, and we are here to expose them.”
Furgiuele responded by saying: “We simply want to hold a press conference and let citizens decide for themselves. We are here to present a popular initiative.”
Lega leader Matteo Salvini, who also serves as Italy’s deputy prime minister and transport minister, condemned the action as “intolerable” and said his party would not allow freedom of the press and freedom of expression to be suppressed. The press conference was ultimately cancelled.
Unlawful attempts by progressive activists and politicians to ‘cancel’ voices they dislike abound in Europe. On January 27th, a Brussels court ruled that the mayor who banned the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) last year acted unlawfully. The court said mayor Emir Kir issued a police decree preventing NatCon from going ahead, citing security concerns, without evidence.
