The disgraceful conduct of Alemanno

Among the first measures of the new Government, the decree for Rome, will be approved, at the last moment, on the last useful day. It is for a situation that has been going on for a year and half.

Today the national press has mentioned it, because it is not just a technical-legal question, but also political one. The Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, is hoping that, in addition to establishing the new authorities of the capital, he will be allowed to increase the number of city councillors, from 48 to 60, and that of the aldermen, from 12 to 15.

This issue dates back to July 2010, when Rome city council decided, unanimously, to increase the number of councillors. At the time, the government did not approve the proposal. A second attempt came with the “Milleproroghe” (“thousand adjournments”) decree, on March 2011, when the “Cutrufo amendment”, which was renamed “a thousand places”, was blocked by the President of the Republic, with a note from Napolitano to the speaker of the house, Gianfranco Fini. “A lot of alternations do not serve the purpose,” the Head of State wrote. “They are all different, and are neither necessary nor urgent.”

Now, Alemanno is making a third attempt to increase the number of councillors on Rome city council. The Democratic Party (PD), who voted for the proposal months ago, are now against it. “It’s truly surprising and shameful, that, at a time of crisis and rigour for the country, Alemanno is thinking of using the second decree for Rome, which Monti’s government will approve tomorrow, to increase the number of councillors on Rome city council.” This is what Marco Miccoli, the secretary of the PD in Rome, stated in a note. “This way, there is a danger that the measure will be blocked, and we remind Alemanno, that it serves exclusively to increase the powers in Rome, and not to help the Mayor resolve his problems of dividing power among the various groups in the PDL,” he went on. “May we be clear, directly to the Mayor, and indirectly to Prime Minister Monti, that the PD is strongly against this increase in the number of councillors, which, unfortunately, is something that’s been thought up by Mayor Alemanno and by the groups in the PDL that support him.”