The announcement stunned Italy. In a message published jointly on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) on the morning of October 20, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made public her break-up from her partner, the TV journalist Andrea Giambruno. "My relationship with Andrea Giambruno, which lasted almost 10 years, is over (...). We have been going our separate ways for some time, and the time has come to acknowledge this," wrote the head of the Italian government. The brief message was accompanied by a smiling photo of the couple and their daughter, Ginevra, aged 7.

According to several Italian newspapers, the break-up seemed to have occurred several weeks ago, but this surprising confession – the talk of every Italian household – is just the latest chapter in one of those political and media dramas that Italy is so fond of. Over the past few days, it has become a kind of soap opera, mixing public discourse with the atmosphere of a telenovela.

In Italian political life – which sometimes verges on a farcical tone – the nationalist government led by Meloni's far-right Fratelli d'Italia party keeps satirical TV shows in business. According to René Alviero, the pseudonym of the X account "Il Grande Flagello," a specialist in parodying politicians and journalists on social media, "this right-wing government is a unique source of inspiration, with its over-the-top slogans," and the Meloni-Giambruno gossip adds a touch of celebrity drama.

It was a macho, vulgar blunder by Giambruno that prompted Meloni to go ahead and post her break-up message. In footage broadcast by Striscia la notizia, a popular satirical program on the Berlusconi family-owned Canale 5 network, Giambruno – who works as a journalist for Rete 4, another private channel in the Berlusconi-owned Mediaset empire – is seen, during a recording, making very direct advances towards the on-set female assistants: "What's your name? Have we met before? Where have I seen you before? Was I drunk?" he asked, before continuing: "Do you know that me and [name redacted] are in a relationship? All Mediaset knows it, and now you do too. Now, we're looking for a threesome."

"This gives an idea of the level of debate, we really are engaged in voyeuristic politics," said Aldo Grasso, professor of communications at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan and columnist for the daily Corriere della Sera. In his view, "off-microphone" comments have been polluting the Italian political arena for half a century now. But it was the entrance of Silvio Berlusconi into politics that created the context that led this excessive, lewd language to reach new heights. "We're in the continuation of what Italian politics has been doing since 1994 and the triumphant arrival of Silvio Berlusconi. Television has ceased to be a platform and has become a political weapon," said Grasso.

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