Federico Mollicone appointed President of Italy's Chamber Culture Commission

Federico Mollicone, a co-founder of Giorgia Meloni's far-right party Fratelli d'Italia, has been elected President of the VII Commissione Cultura, Scienza e Istruzione (Culture, Science and Education Commission) of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Born in Rome in 1970, Mollicone worked as a marketing and communication expert before founding Mediacom in 2000. He served as a municipal councillor for Alleanza Nazionale and Popolo delle Libertà, and in 2012 co-founded Fratelli d'Italia with Meloni. Elected as a deputy in 2018, he previously chaired the parliamentary Intergroup for Culture, Art and Sport and was a member of the VII Commission from June 2018 to October 2022. In his inaugural speech, Mollicone called for bipartisan collaboration, emphasizing the need to act transversally given national difficulties affecting culture, education, sport, publishing, journalism, science, and research. He expressed intent to expand the commission's nomenclature to include sport and publishing. Mollicone has been a controversial figure, notably opposing an episode of Peppa Pig featuring a same-sex couple and criticizing NGOs over migrant landings. Despite his conservative stance, he has shown interest in contemporary culture, frequently attending museum openings and contemporary art exhibitions.