Opposition nationalist League
leader Matteo Salvini on Thursday said he did not control RAI
after the State broadcaster was accused of giving him an
electoral platform during the halftime break of the Italian Cup
quarter-final between Juventus and Roma Wednesday night.
During the break in the match, RAI broadcast a spot for
Salvini's appearance later that night on talk show Porta a
Porta.
During the spot, the rightwing strongman and former interior
minister urged voters to get behind the League's candidate for
Emilia Romagna governor in Sunday's elections, Lucia Borgonzoni.
Salvini on Thursday denied having any influence over what RAI
showed.
"It's not as if I control the spots that go on air or RAI
programming," he said.
"Anything that happens, it's always my fault".
Salvini urged the centre-left Democratic Party (PD)'s Emilia
Romagna governor candidate, incumbent Stefano Bonaccini, to
"complain to the PD about RAI programming," since the PD is part
of the ruling coalition that recently appointed new RAI
managers.
"They've just named them, I'm in opposition," he said.
Former premier Matteo renzi, leader of the new centrist
Italia Viva (IV) party which is a PD ally in government, called
for a similar platform to be given to Bonaccini.
"I think that (Porta a Porta host) Bruno Vespa has clarified
that it was a mistake, but now I'd like to hope that (Bonaccini)
will be given equal time during an episode of Don Matteo", he
said, referring to the popular sleuthing priest played by Franco
Nero.
Another government ally, the small leftwing Free and Equal
(LeU) party, said that Vespa had committed a "serious mistake".
Bonaccini himself said it was a "glaring flouting of
equal-time rules" and called for "sanctions".
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