Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has denounced claims of affiliation with mafia gang in a statement released on Tuesday, pointing out that her government have been arresting and keeping mafia leaders in harsh prison as against other administration

Meloni statement follows a circulation of her picture with a man who allegedly “seat at the same table the Milanese contacts of Matteo Messina Denaro, the heads of the Lombard ‘ndrangheta locals, and the clan of Michele ‘o pazzo, the most powerful mafia boss in the Capital”

And claims that on February 2, 2019, at the Marriott Hotel in Milan, the first major political initiative of the party in the north was being celebrated, in view of that year’s European elections, insinuating that among the militants and executives in the room welcoming the prime minister, sitting in the front row, was also Gioacchino Amico, the Senese clan’s contact in Lombardy.

Meloni clearing her name pushed back: “Today, the “single editorial team,” comprising Il Fatto Quotidiano, La Repubblica, Fanpage, and Report, is showing a photo of me with a member of organized crime to support the bizarre theory of my closeness to criminal circles.

“Furthermore, these gentlemen are making a pyrotechnic connection to my father’s experiences, to demonstrate some sort of connection with organized crime. But these impartial and honest journalists know full well that I broke off all contact with my father at the age of 11.

“Just as they know full well that, over decades of political involvement, there are tens of thousands of photos of me with people simply asking for a selfie. And this applies to anyone involved in politics and interacting with people.

“And I challenge anyone to find any statements or attacks I’ve made against other politicians caught in the same circumstances. My commitment to fighting all forms of organized crime is crystal clear, consistent, and enduring. And what we’ve achieved in government is proof of this.

“While others freed mafia bosses from prison under the pretext of Covid, we arrest them and keep them in harsh prisons, an institution we saved from dismantling. Differences. But these “information professionals” don’t care.

“It all serves to throw mud into the fan and serve as a media buzzword for party interests. No journalism, just politics. It doesn’t matter. I’m not someone who is intimidated by the squalid attacks of disingenuous people.”