BARI – “We have not asked for the dissolution of the Municipality of Bari, the gesture of the local parliamentarians was to ask the Minister of the Interior for clarity.” This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Justice, Francesco Paolo Sisto, on the sidelines of the press conference called in Bari by the leader of the Forza Italia group in the Senate, Maurizio Gasparri, after the controversy aroused after the decision of the Ministry of the Interior. send the access commission to evaluate the existence of mafia influences in the municipality of Bari.
“We wanted to ask what happened – added Sisto – to avoid, as has often happened, that someone might think that an episode of this type could go unnoticed.” Sisto clarified that “Bari, and the people of Bari that we represent and have represented, have the right to know the truth.”
GASPARRI’S COMMENT
«Legality is urgent, I tell Emiliano. It’s always urgent. If the law has been respected, we will all be happy.” This was stated in Bari by the leader of the Forza Italia group in the Senate, Maurizio Gasparri, during the press conference called after the controversy aroused by the appointment of an access commission to evaluate the existence of mafia influences in the Bari City Council, ordered by the Ministry of the Interior after a meeting with center-right parliamentarians of Apulia. These are the statements of the governor of Apulia regarding the moment of the investigation, three months before the elections.
«The facts we are talking about are these – Gasparri added, referring to the Bari DDA investigation called the Internal Code –. There are laws and regulations that must be applied. We will continue forward. We do not carry out investigations that concern the State, but we do not want to prevent them either. We consider what happened to be very serious.” Gasparri added that the election of the center-right candidate for mayor for the June municipal elections in Bari “is underway and will be done regardless of the results of the commission’s investigation, which will last months.” “We are facing a complex of determined and unscrupulous power – he explained – therefore the competition must take into account a habit of power that sometimes also decides the primaries of others.” Regarding the possibility of appointing the magistrate Stefano Dambruoso, Gasparri stressed that “We are investigating several hypotheses, we do not know what decision will be made but we cannot decide based solely on these facts.”
«There have been exaggerated controversies about our initiatives that have sometimes acquired an actor dimension. It was not clear if it was a movie or an Italian comedy with tears and tears, with the tricolor band to put on and take off, with insults.” This is what the leader of Forza Italia stated in Bari in the Senate: Mauricio Gasparri, during the press conference called after the controversy aroused by the appointment of an access commission to evaluate the existence of mafia influences in the municipality of Bari, ordered by the Ministry of the Interior after a meeting with center-right parliamentarians from Apulia. Reference is made, in particular, to the press conference of Mayor Antonio Decaro, organized two days ago.
«They have compared us to Gomorrah – he added – it is something more ridiculous than threatening. “We are addressing the situation on the basis of a principle of guarantee that does not exempt anyone from administrative controls and judicial investigations.”
«I saw the performance with the tricolor band and the employees applauding – Gasparri recalled -. I don’t know if the tears were sincere. I saw the insults to us and to the parliamentarians of Bari, I myself was mentioned in relation to some fiction, when the interpreter of the fiction seemed to be the protagonist of this drama.”
«I saw – Gasparri continued – that yesterday there were demonstrations of absolution that had already issued edicts, tomorrow there will be processions and parades as if it were an anticipated Holy Week of resurrection, when no one died. “It’s a bit of a ridiculous campaign.”
NO ONE WANTS TO OFFEND TRICKS
«This story that we are attacking Bari is not good. I’m not from Bari, the friends who are by my side are. Nobody wants to offend a city just as nobody offends Rome if there are phenomena of degradation or Casamónica, or Naples because of the Camorra.” This was stated in Bari by the leader of the Forza Italia group in the Senate, Maurizio Gasparri, during the press conference called following the controversy raised by the appointment of an access commission to evaluate the existence of mafia influences in the Bari City Council, ordered by the Ministry of the Interior after a meeting with center-right parliamentarians from Apulia.
“We believe – he added – that this matter of the municipal company Amtab is serious and sensational and this is where we start.” Gasparri highlighted that “the insults that the party colleagues of the mayor of this city (Antonio Decaro, ndr.) have directed at Minister Piantedosi are truly incredible. Matteo Piantedosi is not affiliated with any party, he was the esteemed prefect of Bologna and Rome, he was chief of staff of the Ministry of the Interior and is now Minister of the Interior. He is neither naive nor reckless and does not make political decisions. He created access commissions in Municipalities of various kinds and some were dissolved without considering the color of the administrations, given that they were also center-right.” Gasparri clarified that “it is not written in the Constitution that where Decaro and the Democratic Party are, you cannot carry out an investigation or verification, there is no immunity.
«We have had other municipalities dissolved in the past due to events that involved companies linked to the administration. This company (Amtab, ed.) is 100% controlled by the City Council of Bari, which is the sole shareholder.”
«I understand – Gasparri added – that for some years the mayor of Bari has had a delegation on these companies. So the connection exists and the commission will carry out its controls.” “We believe,” he added, “that the reaction was exaggerated, as was the national spread.”
“The fact that some local politicians elected in one context have moved to another place is an aggravating factor for me because transformismo, an old political virus that has affected the world for centuries, is serious.” This is the former municipal councilor of Bari, María Carmen Lorusso, detained within the framework of the Internal Code investigation, elected from the ranks of the center-right and then incorporated into the current center-left majority.
«There are – Gasparri added – forms of expansion of local power that attract people who, elected by one party, end up in another. Transhumance is a manifestation of power. In this Region we have seen people searching for civic lists Municipality by Municipality, when instead we had to deal with Xylella.”
«There is no self-attribution of the anti-mafia certificate, which is a tool that exists. We do not want to communicate this to anyone and we believe that we deserve it with our personal behavior. “We hope others can earn it on the field and not seal it alone.”
Referring to the current municipal administration of the capital of Apulia, Gasparri added that “they give explanations instead of issuing threats on the one hand or receiving premature blessings on the other. We do not allow ourselves to be silenced by anyone and, being guarantees, we do not issue sentences of conviction or acquittal between one demonstration and another. It’s not that if someone fights the mafia he can’t be distracted by managing his territory.”