BRUSSELS — A descendant of the founder of Italian oil giant Eni wants to sue Giorgia Meloni’s government for using his family name in a major funding program investing across the African continent, the Italian press reported on Wednesday.
According to the Italian daily La Stampa, Pietro Mattei issued a cease and desist letter to the cabinet of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last month requesting that his family name be removed from the government’s so-called Mattei Plan for Africa, a multi-billion investment program.
Pietro, the nephew of Enrico Mattei who founded Eni in 1953, says the Meloni government’s policies do not reflect the family’s views. “I find the government’s policies truly unacceptable. On immigration, on energy costs, on relations with the United States,” Mattei told La Stampa, threatening to bring the issue up with the courts.