End of year press conference by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Doubts about too much power in the Army
The general’s mandate (already renewed several times) will expire at the end of April 2024 Mario Parente head of the AISI (Information and Internal Security Agency), i.e. internal intelligence.
In recent days, a rumor that has actually been talked about for some time is becoming current again, namely the possibility of the deputy director of the AISI, internal security service, Giuseppe Del Deo, taking the place of his boss, that is, General Mario Parente.
Del Deo, a former army officer, is considered in the Melonian area as, among other things, he is liked by the president of the parliamentary anti-mafia commission, Chiara Colosimo.
However, there is a discussion to be made on the fact that at the helm of the Aise (External Information and Security Agency), the twin agency for external services, there is Giovanni Caravelli (end of term 2026, in two years) also coming from the army and this would produce inevitable friction with Finance, Police and Carabinieri who would like their representation. And in fact giving so much power to the army would produce a certain institutional imbalance which would certainly not be too pleasing to the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella who is the constitutional guarantor of these balances.
The undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano a few months ago he worked on a structural and not just nominal reform of services and to this end he declared:
“the two agencies, Aise and Aisi, have an autonomy based on a division that was perhaps good for the Kingdom of Sardinia”, implying that it would be desirable to have a single Agency.
Affari had already dealt with the matter some time ago, collecting indiscretions according to which Mantovano as an exit strategy from the problem could use Parente’s deadline of 2024 to make a clean sweep of all the other directors such as that of the Dis (Security Information Department) which Elisabetta Belloni is responsible for the coordination of Aisi and Aise, expiring next year, in 2025.
The Dis reports directly to the Prime Minister, i.e. to Chigi palace and it already represents a bit of the “single agency” that Mantovano spoke about some time ago.
Obviously Meloni’s allies, primarily Matteo Salvini, want to have their say on the appointments that concern a crucial state security structure.
Giorgia Meloni could also “barter” -always in the hypothesis of eliminating the top management – Giuseppe Del Deo to have his own man in place of Giovanni Caravelli at the Aise because this position is more in keeping with the foreign projection of Melonian policy which is actually very centered in this direction, as is is seen in this initial phase of the legislature.
In fact, controlling the Aise allows you to control Italy’s foreign policy and act on the field when needed,
Just think about the Mattei Plan for Africa which the Prime Minister cares a lot about but which also – and perhaps above all – requires intelligence on the ground.
It is more difficult for Tajani, Foreign Minister, to enter into this discussion because he already has a very heavy department on the subject and Forza Italia could be more interested in internal services.
But for now the most probable scenario is that the game will be played solely on Aisi – without canceling the other leaders – and that any “compensations” with allies will be made with appointments in other fields.