Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Ousting of Rome Mayor Shows Italy’s Resistance to Change


Ignazio Marino


Reuters, 28/10 16:19 CET

By Gavin Jones

ROME (Reuters) – The resignation of Rome’s mayor over allegations he fiddled his dining expenses may at first sight suggest Italy is finally getting tough on corruption. In reality, his troubles show just how resistant to change the country is.

On the face of it, it is hard to defend Mayor Ignazio Marino. His approval ratings have shrivelled and many Romans complain public services such as rubbish collection, road maintenance and transport have never been worse.

Despite winning election by a crushing margin 2-1/2 years ago, the 60-year-old former liver surgeon from the northern city of Genoa never clicked with the capital’s residents.

An outsider with poor communication skills, the centre-left mayor soon seemed so alien to the city’s life and politics that they nicknamed him “The Martian”. Perhaps worst of all, he even upset the pope.

Yet even his harshest critics acknowledge that Marino – a member of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD) – did not cause Rome’s problems, and that public services had been crumbling for years before he was elected in 2013. 

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Source: Euronews

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