A motion was introduced to the Parliament that tasked the Meloni government to “immediately initiate the annulment procedures, upon the proposal of the President of the Council of Ministers, after consulting the Council of Ministers regarding the appointment of Professor Vittorio Sgarbi as Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs.” “. The art critic is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office of Koşuta for alleged art laundering, following Report and Il Fatto Quotidiano’s review of the Baroque painter’s painting “The Capture of St. Peter”. Rutilio Manetti, owned by Sgarbi, was arrested in 2013 by the Buriasco in Turin. It looked like a painting stolen from the castle.
According to investigators, the stolen painting reappeared at an exhibition in Lucca in a version described as “unpublished” and “retouched”, resulting in the painting belonging to Sgarbi, who turned to a forger to replace it. The person concerned denies the accusations: “The Undersecretary explains in a note: “This is an instrumental action, based on insinuations and false reconstructions spread by the newspaper Il Fatto and a publication known as the propaganda organ of the 5-Star Movement.” A theorem of assumptions with the clear intention of discrediting me building report: A wretched and unprecedented campaign of delegitimization, so brazen and blatant that the two authors of the fake ‘investigation’ did not hesitate for days to republish it on social media. With the support of well-known opposition figures. Journalism must report the facts, use them to attack political opponents “The investigations of the judiciary, to which I guarantee full cooperation, will reveal the clarity of my work. My life is dedicated to the defense of the artistic heritage. Therefore, I consider it an unbearable violence that the sinister justice that takes us back many years, giving credit to those who create and spread trouble and treating them as criminals, is an unbearable violence.”
Minister Sangiuliano’s coldness
Sgarbi’s attitude seriously embarrass the Meloni government; First of all, the investigation adds to other events that have caused quite a headache in recent months for Culture Minister Gennaro Samgiuliano, who long ago dismissed the volcanic undersecretary and will also be present at the meeting. In the Parliament during the discussion of the motion against the MP.
The point of no return, which marked a definitive breakdown in the relationship of trust between the two members of Meloni’s government, was reached last October, when the minister reported to the competition and market authority Sgarbi’s possible illegal behavior in violation of the provisions of the law. NO. Law No. 215/2004 is a rule that prohibits members of the government from engaging in professional activities or self-employment in matters related to their duties, giving rise to investigations. The disputed facts relate to the parallel and never disclosed activities of the undersecretary, who was to earn hundreds of thousands of euros through his secretary general and his partner. The goal would also be relationships with artists and financiers for whom he would receive generous compensation; this was an activity that was clearly at odds with his public role.
Tax evasion investigation by Rome prosecutor’s office
Another sword of Damocles on Vittorio Sgarbi’s head is the file opened by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office, which sees him under investigation for fraudulent evasion of taxes worth 715 thousand euros. In addition, in this case, a painting that the undersecretary’s partner, Sabrina Colle, bought at auction with the money of third parties, will also be under the scrutiny of the investigators.
Baldino (M5S): “Meloni is an accomplice of the art recycler and the lobbyist”
As expected, the discussion of the motion against Sgarbi reignites the conflict between the majority and the opposition: “Parliament – attacks Vittoria Baldino, MP of the 5 Star Movement – discusses an agreement with Albania that does not solve anything on immigration. It will cost the Italians a lot. Meanwhile, Meloni “He should tell us whether it is normal to have a lobbyist senator in the Parliament who is suspected of art laundering in the Ministry of Culture. I say that Italians do not deserve to be governed by the people. From people like Gasparri or Sgarbi, and even from people like Giorgia Meloni, who is also their accomplice at this point.” On the contrary, the number of voices defending the undersecretary’s actions is few and shy; A detail that cannot be overlooked.
Source: Today IT
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
