“I see no reason why he should resign”- Corriere.it

Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove doesn’t move an inch. Convinced of have not committed any crimethe undersecretary under investigation says «Calm”, has faith in the magistrates and has no intention of taking a step back. On the other hand, even for Palazzo Chigi he must remain glued to the chair in via Arenula. Giorgia Meloni said it in the days of the political storm over the Cospito case and repeats it in these hours of high fever: “I see no reason why Delmastro should resign”.

In the premier’s entourage, lightning was expected, but that didn’t trigger less flames. «It’s a shameful thing, grotesque and ridiculous», attacks a high-ranking loyalist and observes how «these here», the magistrates of the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office, let the news escape from the palace, «which speaks volumes about their seriousness». The tension is so high that there are those who accredit sparks among Delmastro and the undersecretary to the presidency, Alfredo Mantovano, who met on the upper floors to talk on Wednesday, on the eve of the notice of guarantee.

They expected it, or maybe they knew. At Palazzo Chigi there is no surprise and no one, from the prime minister down, thinks of following up on the decision of the magistrates: «They want to piss us offbut we won’t fall into the trap.” Delmastro is not just any member of the government, he is Meloni’s former lawyer and is the point of reference for Fratelli d’Italia in terms of justice. The day of clarification between Meloni and Nordio he too was at the table with the prime minister: a presence that confirms how delicate the position of the Vercelli undersecretary and lawyer is for the government. The opening of an investigation for the disclosure of official secrecy against the undersecretary with responsibility for the Dap was not obvious.

Yet the colleagues of the Brothers of Italy ensure that the decision of the magistrates to hear Delmastro «to his protection» is the most normal thing in the world. Is the attempt to scale, even for ease the embarrassment. The first reaction is silence. The press agencies are filled with voices from the opposition calling for his resignation, while no one speaks from the right. Until the two group leaders, Foti and Malan, try to spread the certainty that “everything will be clarified in a short time”.

The problem is that to clarify the position of the undersecretary Delmastro and Giovanni Donzelli – the coordinator of FdI who had attacked the Democratic Party in the Chamber by spreading the meaning of the exchanges between the anarchist and the mafiosi – had been done just two days ago by the Minister of Justice. According to the Keeper of the Seals, the revealed documents are not classified and his government colleagues believe he affirmed this with “solid arguments”, but the magistrates of Rome do not seem equally convinced. Doubts obviously also spread to the right, so much so that the group leaders themselves try to shift attention on the fact that the news of the investigation against Delmastro has come out of the courts. And inside FdI there is fear that Donzelli could also end up under investigation.

And there is fibrillation in the majority after the acquittal of Silvio Berlusconi. The former prime minister, who harshly judged the performance of Donzelli and Delmastro, received the news that the undersecretary is under investigation with indifference. But on the proposal for a commission of inquiry into thepolitical use of justice the founder of Forza Italia does not give up.

His pitches up to shout, as he did Maurice Gasparri, that “the judiciary is the cancer of the country”. However, Meloni does not want to know, in essence she thinks like the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanché: «What would be the point, in a moment like this?». And Matteo Salvini’s silence is read by many as a no to the commission. For the premier, the priority is justice reform. For Nordio to be able to go ahead without further setbacks, explains a minister, «it is fundamental tone it downavoid putting two fingers in the eyes of the magistrates and be careful not to build a stage to make Berlusconi a protagonist again ».