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Rixi: “The League confirms support and firm solidarity with Toti”
“We wish to express our firmest solidarity with President Giovanni Toti in this difficult moment. We are convinced that he will be able to demonstrate his non-involvement in the disputed facts. In the meantime, we send him all our support”. The deputy and deputy minister at MIT Edoardo Rixi, secretary of the League in Liguria, wrote this in a note.
FI suspends Maurizio and Arturo Testa: “The party is extraneous to the facts”
“Following the investigation that involved them, members Maurizio Testa and Arturo Testa were suspended.” This was reported in a note from Forza Italia. The two, in competition with the president of the Liguria Region Giovanni Toti, are accused of the crime of electoral corruption on the occasion of the regional consultations of 20 and 21 September 2020. “Forza Italia, totally unrelated to the facts, claims its guaranteeist values and awaits the conclusion of the investigations and any procedural outcomes”, reads the statement.
FdI: “Toti’s resignation and early elections not ruled out”
“Nothing can be ruled out. Elections in Liguria are scheduled for October 2025 but the possibility of early voting cannot be ruled out at this point.” Matteo Rosso, Ligurian parliamentarian and coordinator of Fratelli d’Italia says so. “We also need to see the choices that Toti will make, perhaps to defend himself in a more serene way he prefers to resign and everything drops and we go to the vote. It’s really too early to add anything else. I can only say these things straight away”, he adds.
“Before expressing an evaluation – continues the FdI coordinator to Affari Italiani – I am waiting to see the papers, read them carefully and understand. What is certain is that this affair happened to us head and neck, we would never have expected something like this. I am always a guaranteeist and for me up to the third degree of judgment the presumption of innocence prevails and, therefore, I want to see exactly what the papers say and what the circumstances are”.
Nordio: “Surprised by the timing”
“I don’t know the documents and as a guarantor I always think about the presumption of innocence – stated the Minister of Justice -. I seemed to understand that these are facts that date back to a few years ago and that the investigation did not start today but some time ago. I have been a public prosecutor for 40 years and I have rarely asked for precautionary measures after years of investigations, taking into account that the danger of escape, of tampering with evidence and the repetition of the crime are reasons why one can be arrested and after so many years after the event that occurred and the investigations” it is unlikely that “they can still exist. Having said that, not knowing the documents, I reiterate my trust in the judiciary and in the presumption of innocence”, reiterated Nordio.
Schlein: “It is right for Toti to resign”
“Should Toti resign? In my opinion, yes. If confirmed, the accusations paint a picture of unprecedented gravity. A corrupt system and a relationship with organized crime that reaches the top of the Region’s government. I am a guarantor but when the accusations are like this serious cases there is a political opportunity to take a step back, out of respect for the institutions”. The secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein said this on “It’s always Cartabianca” on Rete 4. “It would be right to resign”, she added.
The Democratic Party attacks Nordio
“The words of the Minister of Justice are surprising, do you remember that you are still a minister?”. Thus the head of justice of the Democratic Party, Debora Serracchiani, attacked the Keeper of the Seals, adding: “As far as they go into the merits of the investigation, Carlo Nordio’s statements are disconcerting. They seem to be those of the defense of president Toti, certainly not of those who should act loyally institutional collaboration”.
Pd Liguria: new elections immediately
“What emerged from the investigation’s investigations certifies a disgusting way of doing politics, aimed only at the management and division of power – the Democratic Party writes in a note -. The judiciary will take its course with respect to individual criminal responsibilities, but today the center-right season in Liguria must end and there should be new elections immediately.”
Tajani: “Toti? You are only guilty at the third level of judgement”
“I am a guarantee, in my opinion a person is guilty only when he is convicted in the third degree of judgement. I am guilty for the people from the centre-right area who can be involved as well as for those from the centre-left area. I am convinced that Toti will do everything to demonstrate his innocence, his ignorance of the accusations concerning him. I want to be optimistic and confident for him.” This is the comment of Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on the arrest of governor Toti.
Fedriga: “Caution regarding Toti, every investigation is not a cudgel”
“I would tell everyone to use maximum caution” on what has emerged so far from the investigation involving the president of Liguria, Giovanni Toti, “because we are talking about an investigation and not a conviction”, said the president of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Conference of the Regions, Massimiliano Fedriga. “Using every investigation that opens as a cudgel is extremely dangerous because it is a reduction of our country’s democracy,” he added. “It is right that there should be investigations if there are hypotheses of a crime, but these are hypotheses that must be confirmed by a sentence.”
