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Ex-PM Renzi’s dad investigated for ‘influence trafficking’

The father of former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi is suspected of influence peddling and has been summoned to appear before prosecutors next week, national media reported on Thursday.

Published: 17 February 2017 08:58 CET
Ex-PM Renzi's dad investigated for 'influence trafficking'
Matteo Renzi speaking after losing last December's referendum. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

Tiziano Renzi has become part of a wider probe into rigged tendering by Consip, the Italian administration's central purchasing office.

“This morning I received a notice to appear at the Rome prosecutors' office in regard to 'influence trafficking',” Renzi senior was quoted as saying by the Sole-24 Ore newspaper's website.

“Until this morning I was unaware even of the existence of this offence, and I certainly haven't committed it. My actions have been entirely transparent,” he added.

His lawyer Federico Bagattini described the suspicions about his client as “totally incomprehensible”, as the judicial document only mentioned the number of the law allegedly violated, according to the same media source.

“We will be getting in touch with the prosecutor to find out what the allegations are,” Bagattini added.

Tiziano Renzi had already been the subject of a fraud inquiry, but last July a judge ordered the case to be dropped.

His son Matteo Renzi on Monday launched a comeback bid with a move to reassert his authority over his fractious Democratic Party before an election due in the next year.

Renzi, who quit as premier after losing a December referendum on constitutional reforms but who still leads the PD, secured the backing of the party's executive for an assembly that will set a date for the leadership vote.

READ MORE: Start spreading the news, we haven't seen the last of Matteo Renzi

Italy's Renzi to resign on Wednesday evening

Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

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POLITICS

Italian PM Meloni’s ally gets EU Commission vice president job

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday named Raffaele Fitto, a member of PM Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, executive vice president in the next European Commission, sparking concern among centre-left lawmakers.

Published: 17 September 2024 11:34 CEST
Italian PM Meloni's ally gets EU Commission vice president job

Fitto, 55, will be in charge of “cohesion and reforms” and become one of von der Leyen’s key lieutenants in the European Union’s executive body, despite concerns from EU lawmakers on the left and in the centre.

“He will be responsible for the portfolio dealing with cohesion policy, regional development and cities,” von der Leyen told a press conference.

Writing on X, Meloni called the choice of Fitto, a member of her Brothers of Italy party, “an important recognition that confirms the newfound central role of our nation in the EU”.

“Italy is finally back as a protagonist in Europe,” she added.

Currently Italy’s European affairs minister, Fitto knows Brussels well and is widely regarded as one of the more moderate faces of Meloni’s government.

But as a member of her party, which once called for Rome to leave the eurozone, his potential appointment to such a powerful post had sparked alarm ahead of von der Leyen’s official announcement.

Centrist French MEP Valerie Hayer described it as “untenable” and Fitto is likely to face a stormy confirmation hearing before the European Parliament.

“Italy is a very important country and one of our founding members, and this has to reflect in the choice,” von der Leyen said of his nomination.

READ ALSO: EU chief to hand economy vice-president job to Italian PM Meloni’s party

Fitto was elected three times to the European Parliament before joining Meloni’s administration in 2022, when was charged with managing Italy’s share of the EU’s vast post-Covid recovery plan.

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