“Perhaps I have paid for the fact of having been a free administrator and free administrators are not liked because if they are autonomous, independent from the interests, or party and account holders, or financial economic ones, the sooner they leave the better”: Catiuscia Marini made a all-out defense of his work as president of the Umbria Region and claimed non-involvement in any accusation in a long spontaneous statement in the trial for the alleged manipulated healthcare competitions. Taking the stand after his defender Nicola Pepe asked for his acquittal.
“What I was asked to do (my resignation, that I leave as soon as possible) I have never seen asked for male presidents” stated Marini, among other things. To then conclude: “I hope that dignity will be restored to the tiring work we have done for ten years to protect the health service.” “It wasn’t a sick healthcare system – the former governor claimed -, where malfeasance was concentrated, it wasn’t a healthcare system where criminal associations were even organized to damage I don’t know exactly what. I never thought of damaging the public health system to bring into the private sector which has always existed in Umbria but in a supportive and inclusive manner”.
“Honestly – he said again – feeling accused of having promoted a criminal association in a region where there is a very significant health fund and European funds, of having contrived all this to help a person who had no connection with me seems absurd to me. I have never instigated anyone to commit crimes, least of all the employees, directors and managers of the Region, where my concern was always exactly the opposite.” For the former president “in this matter the regional health service was not protected”. “And today we are paying the consequences – he continued – because an administrative and managerial class born and raised professionally in Umbria with a knowledge of the territory, organization and programming has been eliminated”. Marini also focused on the request for her resignation. “I’m not one for victimism – she said – but I’ve only seen it done to me. There are presidents under house arrest who send instructions to the Regional Council so a lot of water has flowed under the bridge”.
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