On 12 April, 50 parliamentarians from 5 groups of 23 Member States of the Strasbourg-based Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, tabled a written declaration, launched by Italian Senator Roberto Rampi, calling on the Council of Europe to urge the Italian Government to reconsider the decision to shut down Radio Radicale by cutting the funding that contributed to the formation of what the second President of the Italian Republic Luigi Einaudi called the “right to know in order to deliberate”.
The declaration, promoted by Sen. Rampi and Matteo Angioli, a member of the Presidency of the Nonviolent Radical Party was signed, among others, by eight Italian parliamentarians: three from the Democratic Party, Maria Elena Boschi, Piero Fassino and Andrea Orlando, three from Forza Italia, Deborah Bergamini, Maria Rizzotti and Francesco Scoma, Sen. Gianni Marilotti of the M5S and colleague Maurizio Buccarella who now sits in the Non Attached Group.
“In the last budget law, the contribution to Radio Radicale was halved. This means that unless anything happens by May the work of this radio will end”, said Roberto Rampi on the floor of the house where he started his speech by recalling the “peculiar” history of Radio Radicale.
Matteo Angioli