«Zelensky in San Remo? I hope the Song Festival remains»- Corriere.it

“We hope that Sanremo remains the festival of Italian song and nothing else”. Even the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, expresses his perplexities in the light of the announcement of the intervention, with a video message, by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at the Sanremo Festival. “They will have made their assessments, what I hope is that the war will end as soon as possible and that the stage of the city of flowers will remain reserved for music,” says Salvini to “Otto e mezzo” on La7, adding that if he has time to watch the Festival «will be to listen to songs and not to listen to anything else, something that I think everyone expects». Then a thought addressed to the Ukrainian president: «If Zelensky has time to go to the Oscars or the Sanremo Festival, he knows it. Every context deserves seriousness, even Sanremo. I wonder how appropriate it is for the Italian song festival to have a moment with the war and the ongoing deaths, it doesn’t seem to me that things are getting along”.. (Although politics has repeatedly raided the Festival, see service)

“We hope that” the war “will end as soon as possible – added the deputy premier -, we are aligned with the western positions. And let’s hope that Sanremo remains the festival of Italian song and nothing else». To those who asked him if he considered Zelensky’s presence inappropriate, Salvini replied: «I don’t judge. It’s the last week of the electoral campaign, if I have time to watch Rai Uno it will be to listen to songs, not to listen to anything else». Replying to those who asked him if the controversy was about the Ukrainian president, Salvini joked: «I love the Italian song. Zelensky? I don’t know how he sings, I have other preferences ». «I’m not saying who I hope will win – he finally concluded – otherwise I’ll damage him and he will certainly arrive last. I have my preferences, but in the field of singing, not in other fields».