The letter signed by the seven Rai directors published yesterday in the Corriere della Sera could be interpreted as the advance official eviction of the Director General, Antonio Campo Dall'Orto. The theme is the editorial plan presented by Carlo Verdelli, who resigned from the company last January on this issue. The councilors say it clearly: dear Chief Executive Officer, you did it all by yourself, we have nothing to do with it… "the result of an evaluation of him following the council debate".
In the corridors of Viale Mazzini there are those who observe that "the letter is also signed by the director Marco Fortis who represents the shareholder and has a very clear meaning: the Board of Directors is ready to pull the plug". The next meeting of the Council is scheduled for the first days of May and nobody excludes surprises. The wave of controversies that invests every day is of great concern for many aspects: first of all, the renewal of the Convention is still at stake (of which Firstonline wrote in the past few days) which will have to mark the horizon of the broadcasting public service's editorial commitment; secondly, politics, which is starting to look apprehensive as the electoral deadlines approach. Whatever happens, we vote in 2018 but there could also be some anticipated surprises.
Can we afford the largest information company in the country in full fibrillation at this moment? In recent days, the tension in the Rai house touches on another burning issue: the powers conferred on the ANAC led by Raffaele Cantone. It is known that the Anti-Corruption Authority still has the dossier on the 21 anomalous hirings of top executives pending. In the BoD of Viale Mazzini, there are not a few who could fear consequences in terms of revenue should any irregularity in the procedures followed be ascertained and sanctioned. Among the most concerned there seems to be the youngest of the directors, Paolo Messa, who in recent days has clearly and roundly expressed his observations on the matter.
The tug of war is still ongoing and the fate of the winner is not yet clear, also because, it is objected: who could be the successor of the DG? Among the most imaginative hypotheses there are those of an interim President Monica Maggioni, not very credible, or those of a Rai insider to be fished among those who have been able to better float in the recent corporate turmoil (they say: very few). So? Is it better to put everything back into play right now or wait for a natural expiry of Campo Dall'Orto's mandate, scheduled for spring 2018, perhaps armored and under the protection of the Board?
In the meantime, next week, on 28 April, the Rai Way Shareholders' Meeting will be convened. The title is traveling at full speed and fibrillations are not foreseeable. The management is about to change with the departure of the historic CEO, Stefano Ciccotti, and the arrival of Aldo Mancino in his place. The great bet of the "pole of the towers" is still on the agenda: in recent days, once again by Ei Towers, the main interlocutor of the operation, it was reiterated: "We are ready to discuss but no response from Via Teulada" . We are still stuck in the circle of competences and responsibilities: "It is not Rai Way who decides but the shareholder, that is Rai which, in turn, refers to the Government". Full stop. The soap opera continues.
