In the midst of the most serious political crisis to hit Mayor Beppe Sala since taking office at Palazzo Marino, the national and local Democratic Party is closing ranks around the mayor. While acknowledging – in the words of metropolitan secretary Alessandro Capelli in the Corriere Milano on March 9 – that “new answers are needed.” So much so that the majority party, in order to revitalize the administrative action in the remaining two years that now seem endless, has thought of setting up a “committee” to work alongside the council, “representing the civic, social, and economic forces of the city and together with the administration addressing the challenges of today.” However, according to the opposition, there is no more time for these answers. Yesterday, Guido Bardelli officially resigned from his position, the “technical” housing assessor engulfed – not as a suspect – in the legal battle between the prosecutor’s office and the Municipality regarding the alleged irregularities in dozens of urban regeneration construction sites in Milan. But the resignations demanded by the center-right are those of the mayor, in order to immediately give the word back to the voters. Among them is Matteo Forte, regional councilor of Brothers of Italy and president of the II Institutional Affairs Commission of the Pirellone, a former 12-year city councilor in Milan.
In a recent intervention of yours, you stated, regarding what is happening in Milan, that “in the homeland of Tangentopoli, a purely political issue is transformed into a criminal matter.” What does this mean?
It means something very simple, namely that if local rules are shown to be in contradiction with national ones, the problem is political, not criminal. It requires a legislative intervention to harmonize. It is no different from what we do periodically in the Commission I preside over: twice a year we examine and approve an “ordinance” that aligns existing regional laws with new national regulations.
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But why bring up Tangentopoli?
My reasoning is based on the fundamental principle of the separation of powers and transcends any judgments on the work of the investigators. When those not elected by the citizens pursue issues of general interest, they inevitably have effects on the community, for which they do not answer to the citizens, unlike those who, after being voted in, can always be delegitimized at the ballot box and replaced by the same voters. In all that is happening regarding urban planning in Milan, it should not be forgotten, for example, that hundreds of families have invested a large part of their savings in purchase agreements and are now, on one hand, unable to move into their new homes and, on the other hand, cannot look for an alternative because they already have ongoing investments.
Do you think the judiciary is making mistakes?
Again, I do not delve into the specifics of any investigation. I simply reiterate that the procedures generally contested are those that – right or wrong as they may be – the Municipality has adopted over the years, also relying on established administrative case law in this regard. But let me tell you more. There is a 2020 circular that provides an official interpretation of building renovation, including – I quote verbatim – “the demolition and reconstruction of existing buildings with different shapes, facades, sites, and planimetric and typological characteristics.” That is precisely what is being contested in Milan today. The circular was signed by the then Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Paola De Micheli, and the Minister of Public Administration, Fabiana Dadone. They belong to the Democratic Party and the M5s, respectively.
And so?
Therefore, apparently, the Conte government, the yellow-red government, was fine with the idea that to transform a property, perhaps disused, into a new building, all that was needed was the issuance of a SCIA by the Municipality, i.e., the simplified tool for renovations with even structural changes to the existing structure. If this is no longer acceptable, it should be politically challenged and regulated differently. But it is easier to capitalize on judicial investigations, otherwise the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement should explain to everyone why they are contesting what they themselves endorsed when they were in power. Let me add another political consideration…
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Please.
The entire center-right, and Brothers of Italy in particular with Tommaso Foti, then the rapporteur in the Chamber of the so-called “Save Milan,” simply took on the responsibility of harmonizing existing regulations with established administrative procedures, and postponing a subsequent and broader legislative update in the sector. It did not intend to “sanitize” anything, as has been incorrectly claimed. The recent attack by Elly Schlein, therefore, in which she uses the wiretaps released in the newspapers to claim that the center-right is involved in shady dealings, is pure scavenging that must be rejected.
According to the secretary of the Democratic Party, there would be nothing to blame the Sala council for.
However, we at Brothers of Italy believe that the mayor bears serious responsibility and for this reason, we demand his resignation. But once again, for political reasons, not judicial ones.
Can you summarize.
The numbers reveal it mercilessly. The real estate market has gone crazy in recent years with price increases of over 40%, without a corresponding increase in incomes. At the same time, unlike what was done under center-right administrations, social housing construction has been abandoned, which had proven very useful for young couples and those looking to start a family, dropping from 37% of the total in 2015 to the current 9%. All of this did not happen by chance, but as a result of specific choices made by the two administrations led by Beppe Sala.
What choices?
The left has sacrificed social housing at percentages arbitrarily set in the Territorial Government Plan, which then did not withstand the test of reality. In this way, the Municipality has not countered the “high cost of bricks” over the years, ending up favoring only land and real estate profits. At the beginning of the mayor’s second term, Assolombarda calculated that after Expo, the city had undoubtedly enriched itself, but a third of that wealth ended up in the hands of just 9% of Milanese residents. In Milan, housing has become the main factor of social inequality. Paradoxically, the left has contributed to increasing the differences between those who have and those who do not. It is a resounding failure, of which Sala himself, who until yesterday boasted of transforming the city into one of the most attractive metropolises in Europe, must take note. But what kind of city model has been pursued by the center-left administrations? A city model where working is no longer enough to live there. A city that drives out the middle class. Forget about the welcoming, inclusive city capable of offering everyone an opportunity. In this, the Milanese left is certainly emblematic of the global left, now representing only elites and the trendy.
Agreed, but these are arguments for the next election campaign. Why should the mayor leave now?
Because the city is paralyzed. Almost half of the national real estate investments are blocked. Some time ago, over 140 urban planning employees wrote to Sala asking to be reassigned to other areas of the administration. The mayor himself had stated that if the “Save Milan” was not approved, there were no longer conditions to move forward. Abandoned by his own majority, he now asks not to vote in the Senate on that interpretative norm anymore. Sala is now an obstacle to solving the problems plaguing Milan. The next step for which he must take responsibility is to free up Palazzo Marino and let the voters have their say again. Otherwise, he will hold the city hostage for another two years. Sala’s resignation today is the “Save Milan” needed.
