“The coalition will not split. But Forza Italia will assert its ideas from guarantees to reforms»- Corriere.it

Alessandro Cattaneo, president of the deputies of Forza Italia, his party seemed cold on the Cospito case. How come?

«FI has moved with balance, as it always does, as a moderate, liberal, guarantor party, without which the center-right would not exist».

I mean, aren’t you the ones to tone it down?


“Not only have we never raised them, but in those excited moments in the Chamber when the controversy erupted, I asked the president to interrupt the session, we managed to get Minister Nordio to come immediately to clarify”.

Your colleague Mulè could have presided over the Grand Jury of the Chamber which will express itself. But it won’t be him: have you been stopped?

“But no, given that Mulè was president of the Chamber on duty at that time, we found it right that Costa from the M5S, a third party, should preside over the jury”.

But who is right for her?

“The jury will establish it, but let it be clear: we support the 41 bis without any ambiguity, both against mafia and terrorism crimes, and we are against any strategy that raises tensions”.

Will you also support FdI’s motion to keep the 41 bis in Cospito?

“We will examine the motions and decide: surely the center-right will not split”.

But do you believe, as Meloni suggests in his letter to Corriere, that the Democratic Party was wrong about Cospito?

«We highlight the squint, the inconsistency into which the Democratic Party falls when it chooses executioner or guaranteed positions according to convenience. Who knows what they would have said if we had gone to visit someone subject to 41 bis. And what have they always said against President Berlusconi. You cannot be guaranteed alternating current by using judicial events for political purposes».

So is it wrong to go on prison visits to make sure of a prisoner’s condition?

«No, we did it too: I, President Ronzulli and Deputy Minister Sisto went to the Pavia prison to get a closer look at the conditions of detention of the prisoners. We want humane treatments, we have also asked for improvements in prisons and Sisto undertakes to grant them, President Berlusconi has always fought for prisons that allow reintegration. But it is different from using a single case of 41 bis”.

The impression remains of an FI that tends to distance itself from certain typically right-wing positions in the government.

“We are one of the coalition forces and we have our positions. We do not dissociate ourselves but we make them count, strengthened by a culture and political values ​​defined both on national and international issues. We do this to bring balance, from differentiated autonomy to pensions and decontribution, from the petrol case in which we asked not to accuse petrol station attendants of speculation, to the dialogue that we always seek with everyone, such as on presidentialism on which Minister Casellati works well. We always have a constructive approach».

But if FdI continues to grow at the Regionals and you and the Lega go down, are there risks of repercussions on the government?

«FI will do well, because its position – it is the force that aims to free the economy, to favor the contribution of private individuals, to support a good Europeanism, to carry on subsidiarity – and because it has a high-level ruling class , in Parliament and on the lists”.

But what if it doesn’t go well?

“I can’t imagine any repercussions after 100 days of government when we have an entire legislature ahead of us and the task of governing Italy”.