Sigfrido Ranucci “should apologise to Fratelli d’Italia and to all the people he has tried to smear over recent months”. This is what Giovanbattista Fazzolari said when discussing the Ranucci case with Adnkronos, in an interview with editor Davide Desario, the day after Valter Lavitola confessed to being the instigator of the attack on the presenter of Report. The Undersecretary to the Prime Minister’s Office spoke of “smear campaigns” against Fratelli d’Italia and the government, which have been accused of involvement in the bomb plot against the journalist. “I recall,” says Fazzolari, “that the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, at an international event, immediately linked the Meloni government to the attack, and that the Five Star Movement MP Dario Carotenuto accused the government of being the ‘moral instigator’. This interpretation,” Fazzolari continues, “has been endorsed by several journalists and by the presenter of Report himself, who has systematically insinuated a link between Fratelli d’Italia and the bomb, dragging me into it as well.”"I believe the investigators have done an excellent job, unravelling a very complex web of events. Without the expertise and meticulousness of those who carried out the investigation, it would probably not have been possible to shed light on the matter and dispel the many insinuations," says Fazzolari. “It takes the nerve of certain biased journalists,” insists the Fratelli d’Italia representative, “to talk of FdI’s relentless persecution of Ranucci. It is exactly the opposite. It was he who, over recent months, has repeatedly sought to link FdI to the bomb that exploded outside his home. He tried to cast a shadow over me by orchestrating a ridiculous charade in the Anti-Mafia Commission, with Scarpinato acting as his sidekick. The Five Star Movement MP asked him whether there was a link between my alleged decision to have Ranucci followed by the secret services and the bomb: at that point, in a dramatic twist, the presenter of "Report" demanded that the answer be kept secret, fuelling speculation and suspicion.”“A report on ‘Report’ – he continues in the interview – then suggested there was a link between the attack and the Fratelli d’Italia MP Gimmi Cangiano. From what I’ve read in the newspapers, when he was questioned by the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office, Ranucci is also said to have named the chair of the Anti-Mafia Commission, Chiara Colosimo. After that, still not satisfied, following Lavitola’s arrest, he tried to drag MP Francesco Filini into the affair – the very MP who was guilty of asking him, during the Rai Supervisory Committee hearing, whether he was thinking of entering politics. In short, a continuous and calculated attempt to link FdI to the attack.” The Undersecretary to the Prime Minister says he is neither angry about the insinuations nor satisfied with the outcome of the investigation: “Neither one nor the other. Setting aside all other considerations, I believe Ranucci should apologise to FdI and to all the people he has tried to smear over the past few months.” When asked whether Ranucci knew about the attack, Fazzolari replied: “If I were to apply the ‘Report’ method, the answer would be obvious. However, I prefer to wait for the investigation to unfold. One thing is certain: the person who ordered the attack is a close friend of Ranucci’s.”And furthermore: “Ranucci ought to explain to everyone why, whilst he is ready to attack anyone at the slightest pretext, he has always defended the instigator of the attack on him. And certainly – he insists – he will have to clarify why, on the very day of the search, he spent two hours on the phone with Lavitola to agree on an explanation to give regarding the inspection carried out outside his home by the fixer and his henchman, who is believed to have links to the Camorra”. As for the future direction of "Report", Fazzolari explains that "personally, I think that "Report", under Ranucci’s leadership, has lost credibility compared to the Gabanelli era. But that is not the point. The point is the farce we have witnessed: it has emerged that the inquisitor of others’ frailties had all the weaknesses, contradictions and lack of transparency that he morbidly sought in others. And, as the undersecretary warns, the public has never been forgiving of such contradictions.”