ROME - League council whip Maurizio Politi has harshly criticised Rome mayor Virginia Raggi, one of the most senior members of the Five Star Movement. He has called her administration “one of the worst in Rome”, which despite promising legality, “has only brought immobilism.”

 In a rant on Radio Cusano Campus against her administration, Politi said, “many problems may have been passed on from the previous administration, but ATAC (the company controlling Rome’s public transport) is now going downhill, there are major budgetary problems, and everyone can see the dire situation Rome’s road maintenance is in.”

 His comments come in light of a mass sit-in, held on Saturday Oct. 27 as a protest against the degraded state of Rome’s streets. Organisers of the demonstration blamed Raggi for the capital’s ragged appearance.

 Serious infrastructure problems have also surfaced as of late. On Tuesday Oct. 23, 24 Russian football fans were injured when an escalator down into Repubblica metro station collapsed. Furthermore, according to the association Mobilitiamo Roma, 42 percent of the city’s buses and trams are out of service due to maintenance issues or age.

 Politi went on to call Raggi's administration “more Marxist than the Democratic Party (Pd),” and said she needs to work on improving the appearance of the San Lorenzo district, which currently resembles “an open-air toilet.”

 He addressed her appointments trial due to take place on Thursday Nov. 1. “If convicted, she should resign,” he declared. Raggi is charged with lying about the appointment of Renato Marra, the brother of her former right-hand man Raffaele, as Rome’s tourism chief. 

 Yet he went on to say, “I don’t think her resignation should hinge on the result of the trial. I think she should resign on the basis of the disasters that are happening in Rome.”

 Giuliano Pacetti, a member of the Five Star Movement, hit back at Politi’s comments on Facebook. He accused Politi of making the comments in an attempt to gain media exposure, and suggested he is unknown among the public and politicians alike: “Salvini wouldn’t even recognise you,” he wrote.

 fh