All this story is missing is Kevin Spacey’s enigmatic gaze. Because it seems like we are witnessing the Italian adaptation of the legendary TV series. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, is certainly unfamiliar with the words of his defense advisor, Francesco Saverio Garofani. His institutional class and his constitutional respect would never have allowed him to express himself at such levels. But twice Garofani’s words shielded his role at the Quirinale. And for this reason – but also for something else – Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the Chamber, Galeazzo Bignami, are right to ask for confirmation of the impartiality not of the head of state, but of his court in the palace. Placed in the middle by Garofani as if it were, in fact, an Italian-style House of Cards (in the photo below, the protagonist of the TV series, Kevin Spacey).

The “plan” according to Maurizio Belpietro

After the publication of Maurizio Belpietro’s article in La Verità entitled “The Quirinale’s plan to stop Meloni”, Francesco Saverio Garofani replied with the following words: “I am very saddened for myself and for my family. But what hurts above all is the impression of having been used to attack the president”. Instead, he should have said what Bignami had asked him on behalf of Giorgia Meloni: “I deny what Belpietro and his journalists wrote.” Or, otherwise: “Sorry, I said some serious nonsense and my attitude damaged the president.” There is no middle ground. It’s either one or the other. Instead, with a quirinal wringing of his hands, he limited himself to feeling bitter “for me and my family”. I’m sorry to bring it up, but it’s not clear what the Garofani family has to do with this personal story. Evidently he needed an even larger shield.

The second slight, to President Mattarella’s over-the-top role, comes with another statement, contained in the interview with Monica Guerzoni in the Corriere della Sera: “It was a free chat between friends.” That is, the advisor to the head of state confirms that in a public place, so much so that he is listened to by third parties, in front of several people, he uttered sentences that involved himself and, inevitably, the institution that pays his salary: in the hope that between now and the next elections (2027) a “something” can stop the current political success of Giorgia Meloni. And so is the possibility that its majority could express the future President of the Republic (2028). Maybe with the election of Giorgia Meloni to the Quirinale.

The confession of councilor Garofani

These statements can easily be made by the secretary of the Democratic Party or the representative of any party, opposition or majority. But they cannot be said by those who collaborate with the supreme arbiter of our democratic rules. Because the rules must apply to everyone. Also for the centre-left, of which Garofani is culturally part as a former parliamentarian of the Democratic Party. And if the Quirinale offices continue to defend their advisor, then yes, Meloni and Bignami are right to move forward with their demand for clarification. Precisely in defense of the unassailable role of President Mattarella. And the constitutional principles that must apply to everyone. Infallibility is, fortunately for us, a papal dogma and cannot be extended to the Quirinale court.

We are light years away from the way La Verita tells the world. Starting with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But now that Francesco Saverio Garofani has confirmed to Corriere what he had said, we can simply say of Belpietro that he did his job as a journalist. Whatever the witness of the “free chat” who transmitted Garofani’s words to the right-wing newspaper. Of course, imagining that the conspiracy of the entire Quirinale – including the president – is behind him sounds ridiculous. But at that dinner, as the deputy director of La Verità, Massimo De Manzoni, revealed on the RaiRadio1 program “Un giorno da pecora”, “politicians, state officials and professional athletes” were sitting at the same table.

Secretary of the Supreme Defense Council

Garofani is also secretary of the Supreme Defense Council (in the photo above, during a meeting), the first non-military person to sit at the top of the constitutional body made up of the head of state, ministers and chiefs of staff. Here: to see that such a delicate task, with a war on the borders of Europe, has been given a pleasantly chatty advisor, this is equally ridiculous. And maybe a little out of place.