Acquittal in the process of corruption: the mayor of Rome triumphs in the courts

policy

Saturday, November 10, 2018

The mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, is one of the most famous faces of the five-star movement. For two years she was accused of nepotism. Now she is acquitted. His image remains scratched, however.

The mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, was acquitted in a lawsuit on suspicion of nepotism. This was reported by the Italian news agency Ansa. The prosecution had required ten months in prison. Raggi is one of the most prominent politicians of the five-star movement, which also sits in the national government in Rome. His acquittal marked the end of a two-year battle for his work, wrote Raggi after the verdict on Twitter. "We continue #headheldhigh (with the head up) for #Rom, my beloved city, and for all citizens."

The politician of the five-star movement had been accused of a false statement to the anti-corruption authority. The process involved the appointment of the controversial Renato Marra as director of the tourism sector. His brother Raffaele Marra, arrested for allegations of corruption, was the former director of city staff and the former "right arm" of Raggi.

The judges ruled that Raggi had not lied by claiming that Raffaele Marra had not influenced her in her decision to promote her brother. Raggi, 40, had initially been under investigation for abuse of authority, but the prosecution had dropped the charge. Raggi is the first woman at the top of Rome. Although she came in June 2016 with the promise to save the Italian capital from decadence. But potholes, mountains of garbage, buses and trains in difficulty, as well as mismanagement and corruption are still among the main problems of this city of three million inhabitants.

A conviction of Raggi would have been a serious slap for the protest movement, which likes to give a Saubermann picture. According to the Five Star Movement statutes, convicted politicians must resign immediately. A resignation Raggis would have been a fierce blow to the stars. In the polls, they have recently lost their popularity. At the end of October, thousands of people demonstrated in front of the city hall against Raggi.

Source: n-tv.de