Tag: Luigi Di Maio

Then he became the son. For years, Mr. Di Maio, a 32-year-old leader of Italy’s populist coalition government, attacked his political enemies by seeking to stain them with the alleged misconduct of their fathers. Recent news reports have charged that his father paid employees off the books and illegally built on his land outside Naples. On Monday, the elder Di Maio, who dabbled in post-fascist politics, posted a painful video on his Facebook page that was subsequently spread across Five Star social media. “I’m sorry for my son Luigi, who they are trying to attack,” he says, insisting his son knew nothing of his misdeeds and praising his “honesty, transparency and courage.” He demands that critics “leave my family alone” but argues that he had no choice but to hire workers off the books. Before Five Star came to power, its main target was Matteo Renzi of the Democratic Party, a former prime minister. “I’m convinced that the sins of the father should not be visited upon the sons,” Mr. Renzi wrote on Facebook after the program about Mr. Di Maio’s father aired. Mr. Renzi’s father recently wrote on Facebook that if he had done what Mr. Di Maio’s father had, Five Star “would already have launched an appeal on social networks for the return of the death penalty.” (This week, La Verità, another newspaper close to the populist government, alleged new improprieties, prompting Tiziano Renzi to deny that he and his son paid paperboys off the books when they operated a paper route decades ago in Florence.) “I’d like to look in the face Mr. Antonio Di Maio, the father of Luigi, and say I hope that he does not go through what his son and his friends put my father and my family through,” she said. Then the left-leaning newspaper la Repubblica published reports about his father illegally expanding their childhood home in Pomigliano D’Arco.

ROME: European parliamentary elections in May will shake up the political landscape and help Italy in its budget battles with Brussels, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday. The European Commission last month rejected Italy's 2019 budget, saying it flouted a commitment to lower the deficit and did not guarantee a reduction in the debt, the second highest in the euro zone as a proportion of GDP. Advertisement Italy's coalition, comprising the anti-establishment 5-Star-Movement and far-right League, has refused to change the main points of the budget, saying it will boost the economy via tax cuts, a lower retirement age and higher welfare spending. Di Maio told Corriere della Sera daily he was confident that Rome and Brussels could avoid a collision, predicting that the Commission would take a different approach after May's elections which might boost anti-austerity parties. "...citizens will vote in the European elections and will cause a big shake up," said Di Maio, who is also leader of the 5-Star. "We are ready to discuss things around a table, but they cannot ask us to massacre Italians." Di Maio reiterated that the government was willing to sell real estate assets, reduce waste and introduce safeguard clauses to ensure the deficit will not exceed the target of 2.4 percent of output in 2019. But he said: "The main reforms of the budget must remain in place". Advertisement The European Commission is expected to start disciplinary steps against Rome next Wednesday, a procedure which could eventually end in unprecedented fines for Italy. (Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

The community of the beleaguered South San Antonio Independent School District failed its children by voting down a proposed school tax increase. The failure to generate new tax revenue will likely result in an additional 30 positions on the chopping block. In 2013 Di Maio ran for office the Five Star Movement way: by posting his own candidacy online. Why should Luigi di Maio have a degree to become Prime Minister? But if di Maio is chosen to lead the next government after the election, this will become famous as the hometown of the youngest ever prime minister of Italy. In the last national election five years ago, di Maio was one of 160 citizens with little or no experience in politics who gained a seat in parliament. If Beppe Grillo is the movement’s mouthpiece, and Di Maio its face, the brains was the late Gianroberto Casaleggio. “Whoever manages the portal has access to all data, to everything that happens within the Five Star Movement, above all the votes,” he explained. He was already retired when the board, in a last-ditch effort to save the school district from state control in 2014, brought him in after having had four superintendents in two years. The state’s failure to act has prompted more than half of the state’s 1,000-plus public school districts to seek voter approval through tax ratification elections to make ends meet.

The eurozone's 2010-2011 debt crisis was patched up, but not solved. The anti-establishment populists - the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League - were enraged by President Mattarella's veto. He is known in Italy as "Mr Spending Review" and "Mr Scissors". M5S leader Luigi Di Maio called for President Mattarella to be impeached. New PM in for a rough ride - Italian press Italian papers predict that Carlo Cottarelli will have a tough time forming a government, and that once in power he will struggle to execute his plans. Read more on the challenges for Italy: Italy president names stop-gap PM Italy populists: What you should know Italian election: Its economy in charts Some Italians already suspect an EU-engineered plot, after what happened in 2011. What does it mean for the euro? Italy has a government debt burden of €2.3tn (£2tn; $2.7tn). They plan to pump billions more euros into social policies in Italy, such as boosting pensions and benefits for the poor. The latest quick fix in Italian politics is unlikely to reassure the rest of the EU.

ROME — Italy’s post-election political turmoil is hampering the sale of Alitalia, the country’s bankrupt flag carrier only being kept aloft thanks to emergency government loans. Tuesday marked an informal deadline for binding bids to be filed. But possible buyers are balking thanks to the political impasse that followed last month’s inconclusive election. The country’s two leading parties have both expressed reservations about selling the carrier to a foreign bidder. A spokeswoman at the industry ministry confirmed that “a slowdown [in the sale process] is due to the fact that the possible buyers are waiting for a clearer political situation before deciding.” “We will take all necessary steps to be prepared … But today’s Alitalia is not of interest to us” — Lufthansa spokeswoman Neda Jaafari Germany’s Lufthansa, British low-cost carrier easyJet and U.S. private equity fund Cerberus are among the companies that previously expressed interest in Alitalia, under administration since its staff rejected a rescue plan that would have cut jobs and salaries. Lufthansa made clear on Tuesday it’s not interested in the Italian carrier in its current shape. “The matter is too politically sensitive to be dealt by an interim government” — Wolfango Piccoli, head of Teneo Intelligence “We have submitted a document outlining our ideas for a restructured ‘New Alitalia.’ We can imagine further discussions based on that,” spokeswoman Neda Jaafari said. Alitalia said in a statement late Tuesday it had received three offers but declined to name the bidders. On Alitalia, however, both the 5Stars and the League have expressed similar views, hinting that the next government — if led by them — could consider exploring new “national” solutions for Alitalia, including a state investment in the company. “You could put anything in front of an Italian and as long as it has a tricolor, they will buy it,” said the industry official, referring to the Italian national flag.

Led by 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio, the party was founded less than a decade ago, but its strong performance was not unexpected. “In a way, de Magistris pre-empted this protest vote,” said Mauro Calise, a politics professor at the University of Naples Federico II. In second place, with around 23%, was the centre-right alliance, with the Democratic party, led by former prime minister Matteo Renzi, in third. “The Democratic party robbed us,” said Amato. “Berlusconi is a convicted criminal – how could we have voted for him? I support Di Maio because he seems honest. Young Neapolitans also have high expectations of Di Maio. Along with its far-right ally, Brothers of Italy, it took less than 3% of the Naples vote. Di Maio is celebrating what he called the beginning of Italy’s Third Republic, or a “republic for citizens”. The big question now is, are they going to be able to respond to this protest?

In the run-up to the Italian general election on March 4th, The Local is bringing you a daily round up of who's done what and why in the fast-moving world of Italian politics. Days to go until Italy votes: 12 We've had the final polls before voting day and the overseas votes are already making their way to be counted in Italy. Election emoji The Italian election now has its own emoji on Twitter: a ballot paper being dropped into a box decorated with the Italian flag. Only the man who's been in them longer than almost anyone else campaigning, one Silvio Berlusconi! De Luca's claim is that his rivals are seeking to discredit him and his party, the Democrats, days from the election. Italy is using a new, never before tested electoral law this year, which is why there's a new ballot paper, and also why the outcome is anything but certain. We've explain the new law in more depth here. Good news, bad news, fake news 2017 was the year of fake news, according to communications regulator Agcom, whose latest survey indicates that more and more Italians rely more and more heavily on social media for information. From the very start of the campaign, the Democratic Party accused supporters of its rivals – specifically the Five Star Movement and the League – of spreading disinformation designed to mislead voters. IN DEPTH: Forget the election, what's Italy's political system anyway?