Pietro Mattei, nephew of the legendary Italian industrialist Enrico Mattei, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Italian government for misusing his uncle’s name for Meloni’s plan for Africa.
In an interview with La Stampa, Pietro says that Enrico Mattei did “the exact opposite of what Meloni is doing. At first I said, ‘Let’s see what they do.’ But now I find the government’s policies truly unacceptable—on immigration, on energy costs, on relations with the United States. Mattei stood up to the Americans; he wasn’t their lackey. And according to some theories, he may have been killed precisely for that reason. Meloni, on the other hand, doesn’t buy gas from the Russians because she has to buy it from Washington, and she stands by helplessly while a genocide unfolds in Palestine. Can you imagine Mattei facing this?” In the letter, Meloni’s actions are described as the complete antithesis of Mattei’s, and his name is used for propaganda purposes that distort his political legacy.
And this is because, instead of pursuing “national energy sovereignty,” the government shows “a marked subordination to U.S. interests.” As for the equal and non-predatory relationship with African countries, Pietro adds, this is not the case: “Just look at how it treats migrants,” because, as he writes in the cease-and-desist letter, Mattei “selected local young people, trained them in Eni schools, and sent them back to their countries. An approach far removed from the current exploitation of the migration issue for political ends.” That is why he will go to court: “We will file a lawsuit, both civil and criminal. They are selling an empty box.”
