After the confirmation of corruption charges against the mayor and other municipal leaders, councilors and deputies call for those involved to leave their positions: “They must concentrate on their own defenses”. The mayor says he is calm, while the majority holds the line of support.
Feb. 15, 2025
The closure of the investigations by the Venice prosecutor’s office, with the confirmation of the accusations against Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and 33 other suspects, including Municipality of Venice Chief of Staff Morris Ceron and Deputy Chief of Staff Derek Donadini, has reignited calls for the resignation of the mayor and municipal leaders that had already emerged forcefully, with demonstrations in the streets last July when news broke of the start of the investigation and the arrest of then councilor Renato Boraso (who resigned in July).
The coalition “La Stagione Buona”, which brings together parties and civic lists of the center-left (Pd, M5S, Verdi, Terra e Acqua, Italia Viva and others), commented with a concise note. “The closure of the investigations by the prosecutor’s office with the finding of the crime of corruption for Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and his closest collaborators confirms the ethical and political judgment, even before judicial, that we have been expressing for some time. Regardless, in fact, of how the judicial process will proceed, it seems clear that our City cannot afford and does not deserve an administration that, starting with the General Manager, will have to dedicate itself to defense in court and to justifying itself to public opinion. We continue in our work and will soon call upon all those who want to work for an alternative by promoting a first initiative on the issues of transparency and participation”.
Regional councilor of the 5 Star Movement Erika Baldin also insists on this point: “Brugnaro remains, like any citizen, innocent until proven guilty, but it is clear that, for a question of political expediency and respect for the institutions, resignation is the only possible act of respect towards the city. And now it can no longer wait”.
Luana Zanella, deputy of Alleanza Verdi Sinistra, also said: “Now Mayor Brugnaro should step back, and leave his position, which he cannot continue while corruption charges are pending. Up to now we have said nothing, but after the closure of the investigations into the sale of Palazzo Papadopoli, intertwined with the mayor’s direct interests in the 41-hectare area of Pili, which he owns, we can no longer remain silent. Brugnaro should defend himself in the appropriate venues, avoiding doing so from the highest seat in our city”.
Giovanni Andrea Martini, city councilor of Tutta la Città Insieme, is relaunching a petition calling for the mayor’s resignation, which has already exceeded 1200 signatures, and is doubling down in the face of the confirmation of the accusations for the Pili area and Palazzo Poerio Papadopoli: “And what to think of all the urban zoning exceptions or other choices made in recent years? And, one among all, important because it is about to be completed, is the exception that allowed the construction of hotels with 1500 beds on Tronchetto. We need to shed light on this too, and we need to reiterate the need for his resignation”.
The Mayor’s Reply and the Majority Line
The majority and Ca’ Farsetti have chosen to not comment on the closure of the investigation. The line confirmed so far has been to avoid resigning even in the event of a referral to trial. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has always claimed in public that his actions were correct, even in his speeches in the city council, but so far, he has chosen, with his lawyers, not to answer the prosecutor’s questions. This morning, invited to the Azione national congress in Mestre, Brugnaro again reiterated: “I have done nothing. I insist on this, I am innocent. I hope everyone, even the worst, does not find themselves in this situation. On Tuesday I will finally see what evidence they bring for these accusations”. The 34 accused have twenty days to file their statements, and possibly be questioned, to avoid being sent to trial.
Source: Venezia Today
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