Chris Hanretty

Several months ago, leaked telephone intercepts showed that Agostino Saccà, director of Rai Fiction, had been in regular phone contact with Silvio Berlusconi about which actresses to recruit, and how best to advance his own production company, Pegagus. Now they’re trying to fire him. It seems to be more difficult than it ought to be, given the gravity of the allegations. Things which are difficult to understand:

• Why would a former Director-General take a subordinate post in the organisation? Saccà was, between 2002 and 2003, director-general of Rai. Now he’s reporting to the Director-General - in effect, a demotion. If Rai were driven by merit, a demotion might signal that one’s career trajectory had come to an end. However, Rai is not driven by merit, but by political turbulence. Accept a demotion now, and wait for your patrons to return to power.
• Why wouldn’t Saccà resign immediately? In many other broadcasters - or even large companies - anyone accused of such actions would resign either in order to clear their name or in the knowledge that even the mere accusation made it impossible to carry out their role. Saccà hasn’t. One reason is timing. Certain members of the board (for example, Marco Staderini) are pushing for Saccà to return. The new board has to be nominated this year, and the centre-right has a majority in the parliament. The chances for a majority centre-right board capable of reinstating Saccà are high. Therefore, the longer Saccà waits, the better his chances get.
• Why is it taking so long to fire him? First, Saccà’s conversations only became public because of a judicial investigation. The decision whether or not to proceed with the case will be taken on the 23rd May, so DG Cappon has decided to wait until then. Second - perhaps because he himself would like to be reconfirmed as DG - Cappon has wisely decided to take a “linea garantista”, proceeding cautiously and following procedure. To that end, Cappon has cited violations of Rai’s Codice Etico (Ethical Code), a document which was taken as a joke when it was initially introduced, a legal requirement, nothing else.

So, it’s regrettable that such incidents should drag out in this fashion,  but at least the process is being resolved in the right (cautious) way.