Rome, 5 August (LaPresse) – A scuffle broke out in the Chamber of Deputies during a speech by FdI group leader Galeazzo Bignami on the Delmastro case. “I must ask you a pointed question: can you switch off my microphone from there? I ask because I have a feeling that some of the things I am about to say will not go down well with my colleagues on the left,” Bignami began, addressing the sitting chair, Anna Ascani of the Democratic Party, prompting the first protests from the opposition. He then went on to attack M5S leader Giuseppe Conte: “You cited Article 78, which is the one on the declaration of war: Mr Conte, I’m a bit out of my depth with Article 78.” “But that’s only to be expected, because Conte is an expert in private law; he deals in brokerage – perhaps in property, or perhaps in face masks,” he added sarcastically, shifting the attack to the handling of the Covid crisis. “We won’t be asking you for access to your chats with your friend Zampolli regarding the sale of buildings, or with Arcuri, Minenna and Di Donna, all of whom are under investigation: bring out Conte’s chats on the face mask contracts,” continued Bignami amid the applause of his colleagues and the shouts of protest from the opposition. The FdI group leader also took aim at Conte on another front: “He often quotes Paolo Borsellino, but I’ll tell you frankly that for us it was a defeat that the MSI failed, in May 1992, to get Paolo Borsellino elected as President of the Republic. They voted for him and he wasn’t elected, and for us that is a defeat because if Paolo Borsellino had been President of the Republic, he would be here with us fighting the good and just battles, fighting the battles for Italy. The Left secured the election of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who, a year later, released 300 mafia members under the ‘41 bis’ provision.” These words were met with protests and shouts from the opposition benches, forcing Ascani to call several MPs to order. “We must show respect for a President of the Republic” and “one cannot insult the highest office of the State,” the presiding chairwoman then told Bignami, calling him to order when the MP insisted: “Those 300 mafia members released by Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, following the victory of the Italian right, were sent back to prison by the then Minister Conso.” Finally, the FdI group leader concluded: “You don’t care a jot about Delmastro; you’re attacking him because you want to attack Giorgia Meloni. Be aware that before you get to Giorgia Meloni, you’ll have to attack all of us – and you’ll lose yet again.”
The Delmastro case: Bignami sparks a row: ‘The Left elected Scalfaro instead of Borsellino’
Rome, 5 August (LaPresse) – A scuffle broke out in the Chamber of Deputies during a speech by FdI group leader Galeazzo Bignami on the Delmastro case. “I must ask you a pointed question: can you switch off my microphone from there? I ask because I have a feeling that some of the things I am about to say will not go down well with my colleagues on the left,” Bignami began, addressing the sitting chair, Anna Ascani of the Democratic Party, prompting the first protests from the opposition. He then went on to attack M5S leader Giuseppe Conte: “You cited Article 78, which is the one on the declaration of war: Mr Conte, I’m a bit out of my depth with Article 78.” “But that’s only to be expected, because Conte is an expert in private law; he deals in brokerage – perhaps in property, or perhaps in face masks,” he added sarcastically, shifting the attack to the handling of the Covid crisis. “We won’t be asking you for access to your chats with your friend Zampolli regarding the sale of buildings, or with Arcuri, Minenna and Di Donna, all of whom are under investigation: bring out Conte’s chats on the face mask contracts,” continued Bignami amid the applause of his colleagues and the shouts of protest from the opposition. The FdI group leader also took aim at Conte on another front: “He often quotes Paolo Borsellino, but I’ll tell you frankly that for us it was a defeat that the MSI failed, in May 1992, to get Paolo Borsellino elected as President of the Republic. They voted for him and he wasn’t elected, and for us that is a defeat because if Paolo Borsellino had been President of the Republic, he would be here with us fighting the good and just battles, fighting the battles for Italy. The Left secured the election of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who, a year later, released 300 mafia members under the ‘41 bis’ provision.” These words were met with protests and shouts from the opposition benches, forcing Ascani to call several MPs to order. “We must show respect for a President of the Republic” and “one cannot insult the highest office of the State,” the presiding chairwoman then told Bignami, calling him to order when the MP insisted: “Those 300 mafia members released by Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, following the victory of the Italian right, were sent back to prison by the then Minister Conso.” Finally, the FdI group leader concluded: “You don’t care a jot about Delmastro; you’re attacking him because you want to attack Giorgia Meloni. Be aware that before you get to Giorgia Meloni, you’ll have to attack all of us – and you’ll lose yet again.”
