The mafia no longer only carries out its machinations in Italy – it is also active in Germany. The author Roberto Saviano explains what role Frankfurt plays in this.
He is the thorn in the side of the Italian government: the writer and mafia expert Roberto Saviano. He has lived under constant police protection since he uncovered the structures of the Neapolitan mafia “Camorra” in 2006 with his book “Gomorrah”. Saviano repeatedly clashes with the current Italian government under the post-fascist Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia). Last fall he had to pay a fine because he publicly called the government “bastards.”
The Italian government did not invite Saviano to the official delegation to this year’s book fair in Frankfurt, where Italy is the guest country of honor. Saviano traveled anyway at the invitation of his publisher and book fair boss Juergen Boos. t-online met him for an interview and talked to him about populism, money laundering in Germany and the mafia in Frankfurt.
t-online: The Italian government did not invite you to be part of the official Italian delegation for this year’s book fair. Why did you come anyway?
Roberto Saviano: At the press conference they proudly announced that I wasn’t invited. The head of the book fair, Juergen Boos, then invited me on his own initiative. That was a very intelligent and solidarity-based act, because that’s how you get a government into trouble. Of course I reacted to this act, but perhaps I should have reacted with silence. Because that’s exactly what they wanted, they wanted noise. The aim of this delegation was to say that we don’t want to have anything to do with figures like Saviano. They wanted to show: This person is our limit.
Would you have even wanted to be part of the delegation?
No. This delegation also has a political character. Therefore, she represents politics, not the country. And I don’t belong to that group.
Photo IPP Felice De Martino Naples 03 22 2024 Conference National Association of Magistrates Dialogues with the judiciary In the photo: Roberto Saviano Italy Photo Press World Copyright *** Photo IPP Felice De Martino Naples 22 03 2024 Conference National Association Magistrates Dialogues with the judiciary In the photo Roberto Saviano Italy Photo Press World Copyright PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxITAxFIN (Quelle: IMAGO/R4924_italyphotopress/imago)
Roberto Savianoborn in Naples in 1979, is an Italian writer and journalist. In 2006 the factual novel “Gomorrha. Travel to the Camorra Empire” Saviano is known worldwide. Since then, the mafia opponent has lived under police protection because of the threat from organized crime. Saviano is the recipient of various awards, such as the sibling Scholl Prize. His books, including “ZeroZeroZero. How cocaine rules the world“, about the mafia and the drug trade, are international bestsellers. Saviano’s latest novel is currently “Falcone” about the mafia hunter Giovanni Falcone, who was murdered in 1992, was published by Hanser-Verlag.
The delegation should represent Italy in Germany in a united and positive way. In Italy, writers often suffer from repression, including you. Isn’t that hypocritical?
Many writers have criticized the government even though they are part of the delegation. Others, however, did not show up. But in the end it’s all rhetoric. They just want to convey the beauty of the country, but this narrative is false. Rather, beauty should be the incentive to put your finger on the wound. Furthermore, this beauty is not a credit to the government and the Italians. Or were they the ones who built the Colosseum? They wanted to show Germany the heroic Italy that most Germans also like, and they succeeded.
The writer Antonio Scurati was one of the 41 authors who wrote a letter of protest when the Italian government did not invite them to the delegation. He also accuses the government of being censored. What relationship do you have with each other?
We have known each other for many years. I remember the situation when he canceled his participation in the music festival “di Ravello” after the politician Vincenzo De Luca didn’t want me there.
De Luca is from the social democratic party “Partito Democratico”. So are the left also against you?
Populism works in every political direction. Politics does not tolerate intellectual work.
A few months ago your novel “Falcone” about the Sicilian mafia judge of the same name was published in Germany. Do you have a new project?
I’m currently producing a podcast. We are working on getting it published in Germany too. The desire to tell stories is great, even if I’m getting more and more tired.
- Read an interview with Saviano about his novel “Falcone” here.
A large part of the mafia’s wealth flows to Germany. Is Frankfurt a hotspot for organized crime?
Of course, because Frankfurt is also the hotspot of financial capital. Mafiosi generally invest in insurance companies and banks. This is all very regulated in Germany, so no one notices it. Germany has no real anti-money laundering laws. You can bring tons of cash to the bank here without even having to prove where it came from. If I were to sell cocaine for 200,000 euros tonight, I would know exactly where I could legally invest it in Germany.
