Italian media continues to target Rome’s new mayor

One story has been dominating Italian news bulletins in recent days – the difficulties encountered by mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi, of the Five Star Movement (M5S), in getting her town hall government team up and running, almost three months after she was elected in mid-June.

As always, there have been plenty of important Italian news items this week. The aftermath of the Amatrice earthquake; Eurostat’s confirmation that the Italian economy did not grow at all in the second quarter of 2016; and the never- ending exodus of migrants towards Italian shores, with 2,700 being picked up off the coast of Libya on Monday and with another 1,000 landing in Palermo on Tuesday.

All these and other important stories, however, took second place to Raggi’s problems.

Could it be that the importance given to the governance of Rome is based on considerations that go far beyond understandable concern about the capital city? Is it possible that a whole battery of political opponents, led by prime minister Matteo Renzi, are having a Schadenfreude-fest as they watch M5S struggle in this acid test of its powers to govern?

Raggi's problems became very public last week when five city officials quit in a chain reaction after Italy's anti-corruption agency, Anac, said she had not followed the correct bureaucratic procedures when choosing her chief of staff, magistrate Carla Ranieri.

Ranieri subsequently resigned last week from her €193,000-a-year post.

That was bad but worse was to follow at the beginning of this week when Raggi (38) was summoned to appear before a parliamentary commission, looking into Rome’s long-running rubbish collection problems.

Alongside her at the hearing was Paola Muraro, whom the mayor had appointed in June as city environmental officer.

During the hearing, Muraro admitted that she has been under investigation since July for alleged malpractice in a previous job as a consultant to the city’s AMA refuse collection company.

At the same hearing, Raggi had to admit that she had known of the inquiry into Muraro by the end of July.

Denied knowledge

Muraro had previously denied any knowledge of being the target of a legal investigation.

To compound the problem, according to ill-defined M5S movement norms, Raggi herself should have revealed her knowledge of the investigation to the M5S movement. (Raggi claims she did inform some senior party figures).

For the supporters of a political movement that has made transparency and honesty in the often murky waters of Italian politics its defining characteristic, this seemed like a serious betrayal of the M5S cause. So, M5S nominees can be corrupt too?

Raggi has insisted that thus far, no charge has been levelled against Muraro.

That, however, has not stopped headlines such as "Chaos In Rome" (La Repubblica), "A Failed Revolution" (Il Messaggero) and "Armageddon For Five Star" ( the Italian edition of the Huffington Post).

There is something suspect about the obsessive media interest in this story.

Has it anything to do with the fact that the M5S in at least one recent opinion poll has overtaken Renzi's Democratic Party (31.4 per cent as against 31.1 per cent) in terms of electoral preference?

Media reports claim that Renzi is watching the M5S travails very closely, hoping that they will drag on through the autumn, right up to the moment in late November or early December when he takes the country to a constitutional reform referendum on which his own political future could hinge.

Raggi’s difficulty could be Renzi’s opportunity.

However, writing in the leftist daily Il Fatto Quotidiano this week, commentator Massimo Fini argued that the governing Democratic Party is especially hypocritical to point a finger at M5S when it has "a whole plethora" of deputies either investigated or convicted as well as 102 regional councillors under investigation.

Fini also complains that “from the day of her election”, the Virginia Raggi cabinet (and the M5S) have been the mainstream media’s favourite target.

This might sound far-fetched until you look at nationwide TV political coverage in the Age of Renzi. Take the prime minister’s all important constitutional reform referendum.

Referendum coverage

Statistics released by the communications authority Agcom in June conclude that between April 16th and June 6th, the state TV station RAI gave seven hours coverage to the “Yes” (Renzi) campaign but only one minute and 19 seconds to the “No” side.

The reality is that from the moment Renzi took power in a palace putsch in February 2014, media powers that be have argued that the reformist prime minister is Italy’s “last chance” and must be supported at all costs.

If that means shining an especially critical light on the eccentric, at times bafflingly incompetent M5S, so be it.