It is a tug of war between the governor Michele Emiliano and the Anti-Mafia commission. The parliamentary body, chaired by Chiara Colosimo, had summoned the president of the Puglia Region for a hearing in order to “interrogate him” on the bribes and accusations of mafia influence that had overwhelmed the regional council (a councillor, Anita Maurodinoia, who resigned because her husband was arrested, and a former councilor, Alfonso Pisicchio, under house arrest) and some general directorates were beheaded.
A very slippery political chaos, with suspicions of infiltration, vote swapping and bribes, which had forced the former PM into a hasty reshuffle, losing the Five Star Movement, an important piece of his coalition, along the way. A note had been sent from the Anti-Mafia asking Emiliano to present himself to be heard on one of the “alternative dates”, i.e. 7, 8, 9 May. The governor had objected that those days seemed “inappropriate” to him because the meeting of the Regional Council is scheduled for May 7, which must discuss the motion of no confidence in him, presented by the opposition. “This circumstance – Emiliano had written in response to the Antimafia – risks creating an involuntary connection, I repeat although without anyone’s will, between my hearing and the council debate on trust. I believe that it is everyone’s duty to avoid a mixture of needs investigations by the Commission and the council dynamics immediately preceding and following the vote of confidence”.
The Anti-Mafia’s response was sharp and hasty: if you don’t want to come on those days, I’ll summon you ad horas. “The president of Puglia Michele Emiliano cannot avoid coming to the hearing in the Anti-Mafia commission”. Result: advance to Thursday 2 May at 10.30 am (he was even asked to show up today). But even this date doesn’t suit Emiliano: “I’m unavailable, at the 10th I’m at the Conference of the Regions and at 12.30 at the Unified Conference called by Minister Calderoli. I’m available from 10th to 30th May as long as the debate is concluded with the vote in the Regional Council of Puglia on trust”.
The governor’s bad mood is evident: I had only asked for a postponement to avoid exploitation in the Regional Council, as leaked from his offices. An irritation that comes to question the impartiality of the Anti-Mafia commission. “As with any third party, the Commission must not only be third party (and no one doubts this), but it must also appear as such”, paraphrasing Caesar during Clodius’ trial. So Emiliano ends up in three fires. The one within his coalition who would have wanted a “clear change of pace”, i.e. the elimination of the council and not the reshuffle of three councillors. That of the opposition which, despite not having the numbers on paper (if the centre-left and M5s vote in a compact manner), puts him on the gridiron of no confidence. Finally, the one in the Anti-Mafia commission, because certainly, after the dance of dates, the hearing will not be a walk in the park. It is already clear from the words of Senator Maurizio Gasparri that he is one of the 50 members of the Palazzo San Macuto body. “Emiliano is absolutely right. How can someone like him come to the Anti-Mafia? Better to go instead to the relatives of the mafiosi, as he did with the sister of the Bari boss. There is therefore, evidently, an incompatibility not only of agenda, but also of priority”.
The reply to Gasparri comes from Walter Verini, PD group leader in Anti-Mafia, and Anthony Barbagallo, secretary of the body: “The Anti-Mafia commission is used by the majority commissioners as a club and for electoral purposes”.
Late in the evening the centre-right in the Anti-Mafia Commission writes: “President of the Region and former magistrate. From Michele Emiliano we expected more respect for the Res publica and institutional etiquette. Emiliano accuses the Commission of political exploitation, when it is clear that omitting two dates out of five proposals had the sole purpose of wanting to bring the executioner’s ax back to the Anti-Mafia before the motion of no confidence in the Region”.
