Minister Pichetto Fratin’s shaky line on expensive petrol

The price hike? “It’s just speculation,” she said less than a week ago. Yesterday, after being contradicted by data from his own ministry, he retracted: “It’s not a question of pointing fingers and saying that they are all speculators, but of monitoring”. Question time in the House today, while the majority is divided on excise duties

If today the majority is divided on excise duties and high fuel prices, between accusations against operators, yellow flames and jabs between allies, the merit (or fault) is partly his too. The price of fuel? “It’s just speculation,” he attacked Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, less than a week ago, convinced that he had found the cause of all evils. The Minister of the Environment will speak about it today during a question time in the Chamber, which has the issue of fuel prices among the items on the agenda.