Mattarella, his speech at the end of the year sets an audience record – Chronicle

Rome, January 1, 2021 – Absolute audience record for Sergio Mattarella’s New Year’s speech. Yesterday the words of the President of the Republic were followed by more than 15 million viewers in front of the TV. Specifically, 15,272,170 viewers followed the end of the year message from the Head of State, equal to one share of 64.95% with an increase of about 5 million compared to last year when there were 10,205,211 viewers with a 60% share. It is impossible to count how many, and there are many, followed Mattarella’s message ‘late’, recovering the video on the web in streaming.

Comparison with other end-of-year speeches

Mattarella’s latest message not only marks the record of his seven years: in all probability it is also the speech most followed since 1986, year in which the Auditel surveys began. Comparisons cannot have an absolute value since in the past data from thematic networks were not recorded, which, in any case, represented low audience figures. To find an audience figure similar to this year’s Mattarella we must go back to 1993 when the then president Oscar Luigi Scalfaro it barely exceeded 15 million. In the following years the figure decreased more or less progressively, reaching between 10 and 12 million between 2000 and 2010.

The Pope’s gratitude

At the end of today’s Angelus, Francis referred to the words of the Head of State: “ I thank the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella for the good wishes he sent me last night in his end-of-year message and I cordially reciprocate. ”

In his message to the Pope, Mattarella reiterated the importance of a “grammar of care”, which “requires taking advantage of the deepest sense of the concept of responsibility.”
And in the homily of the Mass in San Pedro, read by Cardinal Parolin who presided over it in his place, due to the sciatica suffered by Francisco, the Pope exhorted: “This year, while we wait for a rebirth and new treatments, let us not neglect the cure. Because, in addition to the vaccine for the body, we need the vaccine for the heart: it is the cure. It will be a good year.” if we take care of others, as Our Lady does with us ”.