«On Rovelli, my choice alone, I changed my mind after the request of the publishers»- Corriere.it

was totally my choice to ensure a peaceful development especially the inauguration ceremony of the Frankfurt Book Fair, avoiding that there could be any element of embarrassment. I figured that given what happened recently, the participation of the Professor Rovelli
would have been accompanied not by attention to the themes of knowledge and research, but by a return to the controversies linked to the intervention at the concert on May 1st. Cos Ricardo Franco Levigovernment commissioner forItaly guest of honour at Buchmesse 2024, who intends to remain in his position, explains the initial decision, then revised, to revoke the invitation to the physicist at the opening of the Fair.

Italy will be a guest in Frankfurt in October 2024, a date that is still quite distant.

We are now placing all the organizational bricks and the inauguration is one of the first elements addressed. Then, as far as I know the information, even in 2024 attention would have returned to the May 1 controversy anyway. And it would have been a possible element of embarrassment for the institutional representatives of Italy.

Was there any indication on their part about Rovelli?

No. It was just my qualm. I was charged with a decree by the President of the Republic to guarantee Italy’s participation, my responsibility is strict control.

Were you afraid that Rovelli would re-propose themes similar to those of May 1st in Frankfurt?

An intellectual like Rovelli is not told what to talk about. I wasn’t afraid of the topics, as much as that his own participation was read on the basis of the controversies that arose on May 1st, so that we would go back to talking about him and not about the scientist known throughout the world.

Why did he change his mind?

The publishers met on Saturday: everyone appreciated the scruple with which I had made decisions to protect the serenity of the inauguration. After that the same publishers, in the name of freedom of expression, which is part of their “Hippocratic oath”, hoped that Rovelli could be brought to Frankfurt. Even earlier voices had been heard from the government reaffirming their full commitment to open participation in the Fair. I thought there were the conditions for the professor’s intervention.

You are also president of the Italian Publishers Association (AIE). Didn’t he assume a reaction?

My roles as Commissioner and IEA President involve defined institutional responsibilities, and there may be times when they are not entirely consistent. I used rigor in the exercise of both responsibilities and a line was found that makes them compatible: Rovelli is invited but the need for the serenity of the ceremony is guaranteed and there is the commitment of the authorities for plural participation.

Culture Minister Sangiuliano said he would support Rovelli with other voices in the name of pluralism.

Participation in the fair as a sign of openness and freedom for all voices: on this there is no possibility of any misunderstanding.

Guido Crosetto wrote on Twitter in the morning on Saturday that the author of the decision on Rovelli was a friend of the physicist whom the defense minister himself did not know except for having been undersecretary with Prodi.

I appreciated Crosetto’s elegance after the controversy over Rovelli’s phrases on May 1st. As for friendship with the scientist, it should be understood as a common commitment to sharing culture.

Would you send Friday’s email back to Rovelli?

I think so, and I’m happy we found what I consider a common ground.