Salman Rushdie advises Giorgia Meloni to 'be less childish and grow up'

British-American writer Salman Rushdie on Thursday urged far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to be more tolerant of criticism, saying she should “be less childish and grow up,” according to media reports.

The author of Indian origin was speaking to journalists at the Turin (Piedmont) book fair, where he is due to appear on Friday alongside Italian journalist Roberto Saviano. The latter was sentenced in October by an Italian court to a suspended fine of 1,000 euros for having defamed Giorgia Meloni by criticizing her position on migrants.

“At my own risk, I have to say that politicians should have thicker skin, because a politician today, in addition to having great power, also has great authority,” Salman Rushdie said when He was questioned about this affair. “It is therefore normal for some people to speak about them directly, even badly, using a bad word like the one Roberto used,” he said, according to the Ansa news agency. He added: “I would advise this lady to be less childish and grow up.” Roberto Saviano called Girogia Meloni a “bastard” on national television in December 2020, when the far-right leader was still in opposition. Known for his international bestseller about the Gomorra mafia, he lives under police protection due to threats from organized crime.

Salman Rushdie has also faced death threats since his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses was declared blasphemous by Iran's supreme leader, who called on Muslims around the world to kill him. He was attacked with a knife in August 2022 during a literary conference in Chautauqua, north of New York, by an American of Lebanese origin suspected of being sympathetic to Iran. Seriously injured, the writer lost an eye.

Also read: Salman Rushdie at Le Figaro: “Without the freedom to offend, freedom of expression ceases to exist”

Salman Rushdie is in Turin to promote The Knife, a memoir in which he reflects on the public attack that brought him to the brink of death. A well-known Italian historian, Luciano Canfora, was sent to court in April for defamation of Giorgia Meloni, the head of government having filed a complaint against the intellectual who had called her a “neo-Nazi at heart”.