The Chamber of the Lombard Regional Council approved by majority (45 votes in favour, 19 against and 1 abstention) the motion on “forced recovery of arrears for occupation of housing public housing”. The original text was modified in the first instance in agreement with the Council and subsequently on the basis of two amendments presented by the group League and from the group Better Lombardy and welcomed by the proposer.
“The public ownership of public housing – said the first signatory Marcello Ventura (FdI) illustrating the text in the Chamber – it is a fundamental right to guarantee dignified housing for less well-off citizens. In recent days, it has been learned through the press that the Honorable Salis has illegally occupied a public accommodation. We therefore note what was stated by ALER’s lawyers in the press, where it is ascertained that the MEP has not paid off the accumulated debt and did not provide valid justifications for the arrears. With this motion we ask the Council to urge ALER to implement the legal procedures envisaged for the recovery of the claimed credit, including the forwarding of a specific request to the competent judge to obtain the seizure of Mr Salis’s current accounts up to the amount of the claimed credit . I wanted to underline – concluded Ventura – the importance of respect for private property and the protection of public assets: it is unacceptable that a representative of the highest community institutions promotes violent and criminal behavior by conveying messages that encourage illegal conduct against building apartments public of the Lombardy Region”.
The interventions of the regional councilors
Honorio Rosati (Green and Left Alliance): “I offer my warmest compliments to the Hon. Ilaria Salis, new member of the European Parliament, for whom I am honored to have campaigned. The issue of the housing emergency is a serious issue that must be addressed without exploitation. In Milan there are 8841 occupied homes and arrears of 86 million euros for unpaid rent. Why are we only talking about the case of Ilaria Salis? Why is she already considered guilty when judicial proceedings have not even been initiated to ascertain the facts? Does guaranteeism apply to everyone or only when members of one’s own party are investigated? In our opinion – concluded Rosati – this motion should not even have been discussed.”
Nicholas DiMarco (5 Star Movement) “ALER Milan does not do its duty. The Housing Councilor of the Lombardy Region should redevelop houses and assign housing but this does not happen. This document is inadmissible, we as the Regional Council cannot tell the ALER company what to do in the specific case. The Salis case is proof of the disastrous conditions faced by ALER Milano and the real estate assets it manages.”
The speech of the group leader of the 5 Star Movement was interrupted by some Councillors of the FdI group and the session was temporarily interrupted.
Luca Paladini (Civic Pact) “The majority needs a biased and instrumental motion to divert media attention from the paucity of the work done so far. As already said by others, I have serious doubts about the legitimacy of this motion because the regional council cannot dictate to a regional company what it must do and what not to do.”
Marco Bestetti (FdI) “This motion makes clear the radical difference of views between the majority and the opposition on the issue of illegal occupations of private or public housing. Today it will be easier to understand who is with whom, who is with the good people and who is with the people who occupy illegally and do not pay. The left defends the social centers that prevent evictions and squatters and therefore perpetuate a situation of illegality. ALER has a lot of debts because there are many Ilarie Salis who consider it a right to occupy a house and not pay for it. By voting for this motion we hope that things will change.”
Manfredi Palmeri (Lombardia Migliore) “We have nothing in common with Ilaria Salis and her frankly inadmissible statements. Ilaria Salis is not Robin Hood and she is not even Enzo Tortora, but the Honorable Salis has the right like everyone else to have a fair trial. The Law and only the Law will be able to ascertain whether the person in question is guilty of illegal occupation. We have therefore proposed some changes, in particular we have requested and obtained the removal of any ad personam reference from the text.”
Carmela Rozza (PD). The text as amended by the Council does not speak of illegal occupation but of arrears and therefore it is not clear what we should vote for. In political terms, the situation in public housing neighborhoods is that there are hundreds of vacant apartments and this favors occupations. The Democratic Party is against illegal occupations therefore it does not agree with the Honorable Salis but denounces the instrumentality of this motion. If Salis has a debt recognized by the Court, it will have to pay, there is no doubt. Therefore this motion is useless and instrumental.”
Alessandro Corbetta (Lega).”We are talking about a person accused of serious crimes in a European Union country and released from prison thanks to his election to the Brussels Parliament. I remember that in 2017 Mrs. Salis participated with her associates from the Boccaccio Collective of Monza in an attack against League militants. We have presented an amendment to draw attention to the general issue of illegal occupations and the need to guarantee legality in public housing districts.
Giulio Gallera (FI) “Whoever decides to run must respect the law, this interests us. Not the outcome of Mr. Salis’s legal affairs nor the balance of his real or presumed economic debts towards ALER. It is unfortunate to note that a clear and indisputable condemnation of the objectively subversive statements of the Hon. has not emerged from the opposition. Salis. On the management of public housing we do not accept lessons from the left because in Milan there are 4000 vacant ALER units and the same number of units from the Municipality of Milan managed by MM.
Lisa Noja (Action-Italia Viva) “I don’t agree with a word of the Hon. Salis and I find his statements very serious. I don’t even agree with what Councilor Rozza said that the vulnerable are in some way authorized to occupy because it would result in unequal treatment between bullies and those who respect the rules. However, the motion is wrong and I doubt that it is inadmissible because it deals with a single person and imposes a line of conduct in the civil field on ALER. The approval of this text would be a serious precedent and for this reason our group will not vote for it.”
“The Honorable Salis is an anarchist, that is, she goes against the rules and does not respect the rule of law of which she is part, also and above all by virtue of the institutional role she now holds – he said Fabrizio Figini, group leader of Forza Italia. This is why we cannot accept lessons from you, which is why with this motion we state forcefully and clearly that occupying a house is a crime. As Silvio Berlusconi said, those who defend Salis and voted for her, in the end confirm themselves as just “poor communists”.
“We wanted to underline the importance of respect for private property and the protection of public assets: it is unacceptable that a representative of the highest community institutions promotes illegal, violent and criminal conduct by conveying messages that encourage illegal conduct against public housing apartments in Lombardy Region” – underlined the group leader of the Brothers of Italy Christian Garavaglia, who added: “Occupying is not a right. The rules must be respected at every level, especially by those who hold institutional responsibilities and positions.”
The motion was also supported by Luca Marrelli (Ideal Lombardy) e Nicholas Gallizzi (We Moderates).
Housing Councilor Paolo Franco reassured the Chamber that ALER always does everything required by law to guarantee compliance with the rules and the recovery of its debts and will do so also in the case of the Honorable Salis. The occupation situation from 2019 to 2024 has improved slightly, said the Councillor: we went from 3145 to 2751 ALER Milan accommodations occupied illegally. ALER has taken steps to sue 1000 illegal occupants in respect of regular tenants and citizens on the waiting list. I believe it is necessary to review the memorandum of understanding with the Prefecture to manage evictions where the use of public force is necessary more effectively and quickly.
