From prison overcrowding to the issue of abuse of office, through pre-trial detention. Justice front dominates public debatein the torrid summer of politics. But also the one that is forcefully returning to favour in these hours is the Severino law cruxThat Forza Italia would like to amend by cancelling the rule regarding the suspension of mayors convicted in the first instanceconsidered by the Azzurri to be “the anticipation of a conviction” and therefore the “denial” of the principle of presumption of innocence. Silvio Berlusconi’s party, through the head of Departments Alessandro Cattaneo, is asking to open a debate on the topic “that can increase the element of guarantee for citizens”.
A cautious opening also comes from the undersecretary of Justice of the Brothers of Italy, Andrea Delmastrodespite Giorgia Meloni’s party having shown a different sensitivity than FI (as demonstrated by the abstention in the Chamber in July on an order of the day presented by the PD and voted by Lega and Forza Italia): “That there is a question of balance between local administrators and deputies is evident. And it is true that a forceful intervention of the law, without even the second sentence of merit, constitutes a problem”, Delmastro tells Adnkronos regarding the suspension of mayors and local administrators from their positions after only the first-degree sentence, provided for by the Severino law. For the undersecretary of Via Arenula “we can work to make the Severino law more consistent with the constitutional dictate and with the principle of non-culpability”.
No to a ‘tout court’ abolition of the law, therefore, as one of the 2022 referendum questions asked, “but an intervention that tends to equate local administrators a little more to parliamentarians, keeping the Severino framework in place but in a manner more in line with the constitutional dictate. We could intervene, for example, after the second-degree ruling”: this is a possible solution put forward by Delmastro.
“Obviously – observes the representative of Fratelli d’Italia – it is a very complex issue that concerns on the one hand the need to guarantee the constitutional principle of non-guilt and on the other hand, given that it also intervenes for very serious crimes, the need to sanction the public administrator for serious cases with suspensions and incompatibilities. These two principles must be balanced”.
For Giulia Bongiorno of the Leaguean intervention on the Severino law is necessary but first we need to tackle other urgent measures: “Given that at this moment the absolute priority is prison overcrowding and that other issues worthy of attention are the speeding up of trials and the reform of precautionary measures, the League has already expressed a clear position on the Severino law with the referendum. And that is, that a direct intervention is necessary to avoid that there are immediate consequences for administrators after the first-instance sentence, in the absence of a definitive sentence”, the League senator tells Adnkronos. “Obviously – she continues – there will be a meeting of the justice officials of the majority. But I believe that on this issue there is a unity of views”.
And while Forza Italia insists on bringing home one of the historic battles of Silvio Berlusconi (who was ousted from the Senate in 2013 due to the Severino law following his conviction for tax fraud in the Mediaset trial), the Minister of Justice intervenes in the debate by acknowledging, in an interview with Corriere della Sera, that different positions exist within the majority: “But we are calmly finding a synthesis”, assures the Minister of Justice.
#Reform #Severino #law #pressure #Forza #Italia #Lega