The governor’s council Michele Emiliano has launched a mini reshuffle. Harsh councilors have left and three have been appointed. The health councilor of the Puglia region, the former Forzista Rocco Palese, has resigned: “Considering the current political situation, I thought it appropriate to formalize my resignation as councillor, also in the hope that this can facilitate a quicker solution which allows the regional government to resume and continue working for the good of the citizens of Puglia”. Also leaving is Anna Grazia Maraschio, Councilor for the Environment at the Italian Left. A prelude to the expected reshuffle. The President of the Region has in fact signed the following councilor appointments: a Serena Triggiani the delegation to the Environment, Waste cycle and reclamation, Environmental Supervision, Parks, Industrial risk, Housing policies, Industrial crises and Gender policies; to Viviana Matrangola the delegation to Culture, protection and development of cultural enterprises, Legality and social Anti-Mafia; to Debora Ciliento (Pd) the delegation for Transport and Sustainable Mobility in place of the resigning Anita Maurodinoia, investigated in an investigation by the Bari Prosecutor’s Office into an alleged vote swap.
The departments of Health and Welfare remain vacant, the latter left by the five-star Rosa Barone. For the moment the delegation of health is maintained by the president. A mini reshuffle that does not meet the request that came from the national secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, after the investigations and arrests that overwhelmed Apulian politics. Schlein had spoken of “a clear change of pace”, at least five changes were hypothesized in the council, but for now three have arrived.
“I thank President Emiliano for his never wavering trust in me and I renew my respect for him. My contribution to this regional government – says Palese – it has always been of an exclusively technical nature, certainly not political, but precisely because I understand the difficulty of the current political situation, with the same spirit of service with which I agreed to join the Council, I resigned. I thank – he adds – the director and all the employees and collaborators of the Health department with whom we have carried out considerable work in these two years. I believe I have made a contribution in the name of commitment always made with discipline and honor, dedication and protection of the regional health service, producing universally recognized results: in a short time we have almost eliminated the health deficit and brought the Puglia Region into a position to exit the recovery plan. I hope, and I am certain, that President Emiliano will be able to make the best choices to continue on this path not only in the health field and always with the good of the people of Puglia as his sole objective”.
From Rome to Bari, the governor is grappling with the announced motion of no confidence from the centre-right which will be discussed on 7 May. The motion does not seem to be able to put Emiliano in difficulty, at least in terms of numbers given that the centre-left majority should vote against it in a united manner. Same position that will be taken by the M5s group, as announced by its group leader, Marco Galante: “We cannot vote for a motion of no confidence in the actions of the regional council – he explains – and we do not accept any type of lesson or attempt at exploitation from the centre-rightto. We have left the perimeter of the majority and given back the delegations, but this does not mean, as also reiterated by President Conte, denying the work done by both councilor Barone and delegated councilor Grazia Di Bari in recent years”. On Monday the centre-right had “invited” the M5s to vote on the motion after having abandoned the majority. “A job – continues Galante – which is important and must be recognized, as the many citizens who are writing to our councilors to thank them for what they have done are doing”.
Meanwhile Emiliano – at the center of a controversy for having asked Alfonso Pisicchio to resign a few hours before the arrest – and the Bari prosecutor, Roberto Rossi, will be heard in the parliamentary anti-mafia commission on the events and investigations linked to the alleged buying and selling of votes as decided by the bureau of the commission. “Michele Emiliano will be heard by the anti-mafia commission. President Colosimo accepted my request to summon the governor of Puglia quickly. A date should be set soon. The time has come for Michele Emiliano to explain what is happening in that region and in Bari”, commented Senator Raffaella Paita, national coordinator of Italia Viva and member of the Anti-Mafia commission.
