Nordio Frees Mayors’ Hands: Revolution in Abuse of Power, What Changes

A rule that, in fact, prevents mayors from making decisions, even the simplest and most elementary ones. Which induces prestigious citizens to give up authoritarian candidacies. And it blocks our metropolises, both those managed by the center-right and those managed by the left. “The abuse of power reform bill is ready. I don’t know if he will be in the Council of Ministers this week, although I hope so, or next week. In any case, there is a political agreement.” The Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, present today at the Festa del Foglio in Venice is a river in full swing. “I can say – said Nordio – that there was a group of administrators and mayors, including the Democratic Party, who implored us to abolish the crime of abuse of power that generates fear of signing and exposes them to a series of investigation risks that also compromise the political career but above all compromise the speeding up of administrative processes”.

The implication is that, at times, some mayors are literally afraid to initiate certain procedures. That is, that they are terrified of endless investigations by the judiciary that not only run the risk of blocking the processes, but of casting a (sometimes definitive) shadow over the career of the first citizen involved.

The Guardian of the Seals then announced that there will be a major tightening of the issue of interceptions. The centre-right government wants to make a clear distinction between what can be published during the investigation and what, on the contrary, you know you can only tell when the investigation itself is over. A rule that aims to “protect not only the effectiveness of investigations but also the dignity of third parties”. Nordio does not deny that there is a desire to initiate more comprehensive justice reform. Let it also go beyond the already infamous separation of careers: “It is on the horizon of this legislature, it must be done out of respect for the voters who voted for us”.