Italy sets up Corona investigation committee

Prime Minister Meloni accuses the former head of government Conte of failing to deal with the pandemic. A committee of inquiry will now examine the measures taken at the time.

KAlmost four years after the start of the corona pandemic, a parliamentary committee of inquiry in Italy is to look into the actions of the government at the time. After a heated debate, the Italian Chamber of Deputies decided to set up such a committee on Wednesday evening. This is intended to examine the measures taken by former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and the then Health Minister Roberto Speranza to deal with the pandemic.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government primarily accuses Conte and Speranza of failings in the first phase of the pandemic in spring 2020. Italy was particularly affected at the time and was one of the first European countries where the coronavirus spread dramatically. Even after the outbreak, those responsible took inadequate measures to contain the pandemic. According to the government, many deaths could have been prevented.

The vote in the Chamber of Deputies – the larger of the two parliamentary chambers – was preceded by a heated debate. The meeting had to be adjourned due to continued disruptions and heckling from the opposition. Conte, who is currently leader of the opposition Five Star party, said he had nothing to hide. However, the committee of inquiry is an instrument of the incumbent government to politically attack the previous government.