Abuse of office, the yes of many mayors of the Democratic Party. But Schlein is against it – Corriere.it

The cancellation of the crime of abuse of office causes discussion on the Democratic Party. Secretary Elly Schlein is against the repeal provision contained in the justice reform, but this is not the position of many mayors of his party. Of course, few say clearly that they are in favor of the abolition of that crime but in the end everyone breathes a sigh of relief for this decision which greatly eases the fear of the first citizens in front of the decisions to be made.

Among the clear-cut judgments is that of Matteo Ricci, the mayor of Pesaro who is, above all, the coordinator of all the dem mayors. And to tell the truth, his applause for the reform desired by Minister Carlo Nordio is more than clear, he is even exultant. In fact, he says: “The cancellation of the abuse of office is a victory for all mayors, regardless of political color”. Then he explains: «It was ten years that the first citizens of all sides asked for the crime to be changed. The repeal has come and therefore we can claim victory.

There is a mantra that all first citizens repeat when it comes to bribery. These are the percentages of acquittals concerning the statutory auditors who have received the guarantee notice. Notes Beppe Sala, mayor of Milan: «Only in 3% of cases do we arrive at a conviction. Certainly in 100% of cases there is serious damage to the accused’s image. Without forgetting the rivers of ink at the start of the proceedings and a line in the newspapers for the acquittal ». And so what? Sala welcomes the new rule with a rhetorical doubt: «Would it have been better to modify the abuse of office rather than abolish it? Maybe, but after years of parliamentary work we never got to a real reform”.

Inside the Democratic Party they guarantee that the contrary position does not depend on an ideological stance. “We need to proceed with caution regarding the abolition of the crime of abuse of office,” says Senator Alessandro Alfieriowner of the al Nazareno dossier, explaining: “Such a reform would make it even more difficult to negotiate the Pnrr with the European Union, because other countries have a case of this type”.

But this explanation does not convince everyone. Vincenzo De Luca, now president of Campania, was mayor of Salerno and since then he says he has fought against the crime of abuse of office. «The government’s initiative is important and positive. Instead, I listened to members of the Democratic Party who, due to their political history, are examples of transformation and opportunism who said something else. One of the main exponents of the electoral disaster of the Democratic Party, now recycled with Schlein, spoke of justice with unbearable arrogance ».

Antonio Decaro, president of Anci and dem mayor of Bari claims that he does not have the legal tools necessary to understand the value of the reform. But he too, like everyone else, breathes a sigh of relief in the face of a crime “which has ruined the private and family life of many mayors even before their political careers”. And then he repeats once again those «percentage figures above 97% which are not only acquittal, but also include the mayors who never get there in court». Even Stefano Lo Russo, Pd mayor of Turin, says: «I don’t have the legal skills to evaluate whether to abolish the crime of abuse of office tout court, but it certainly can’t be left as it is. Mayors today are by far the most exposed figures on a personal level and, moreover, without any insurance or risk coverage. There is no other position of responsibility so exposed in the entire Italian public administration”.

From Monza, Paolo Pilotto, the new mayor of the Democratic Party, is decisive: “The abuse of office as it is is a misfortune”, even if he then reveals a softer position than other first dem citizens: “I can say that I am in favor halfway through abolition, I don’t think resetting it is good for us, it would risk over-exposing us”. Sergio Giordani, the center-left mayor of Padua, comments: “The fact that this issue has been taken over by the central government is a step forward after we mayors of Italy have repeatedly signaled in vain that a reflection was needed on this issue” .

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