Italian minister hounds judges
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ANDREW GUMBEL
Rome
The French anti-corruption magistrate Renaud van Ruymbeke once acknowledged that his ambition was to nail a government minister; conversely, it seems that the lifetime ambition of the Italian minister, Filippo Mancuso, is to nail an anti-corruption magistrate.
Ever since Mr Mancuso, a career jurist and former appeals court prosecutor, was appointed Justice Minister last January, he has been single-minded in his attempts to discredit the "clean hands" magistrates in Milan, whose investigations led to the collapse of the old political order two years ago.
Mr Mancuso, 74, belongs to the old school of magistrates who never challenged the system and never dared turn themselves into public personalities. He seems to be waging a vendetta against the new generation of judicial movers and shakers, bent on revolutionising Italian society.
Mr Mancuso went into even higher gear this week, opening new investigations into two of the Milan magistrates, Gherardo Colombo and Paolo Ielo. He has refused to resign, despite several no-confidence motions proposed by parliament.
Soon after his appointment, Mr Mancuso sent ministry inspectors to investigate whether the Milan magistrates had abused their office in their attempts to indict the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. This caused a furore; when Mr Berlusconi's own justice minister, Alfredo Biondi, tried to do the same thing in July 1994, he was forced to backtrack.
Mr Mancuso's inspectors failed to turn up any dirt, so he fired them (later reinstating all but two under pressure from colleagues and public opinion). That was not the end of the story. Feeling abandoned by his Prime Minister, Lamberto Dini, he described Mr Dini as "servile" to the political forces supporting his government.
Under Italy's constitution, the only way to get rid of an irritating minister is for the whole government to resign. Mr Dini plans to do just that when his temporary mandate runs out in the next few weeks. Mr Mancuso has only one friend left in the world, Mr Berlusconi, who has his own reasons to dislike the Milan magistrates.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments