Google Discover
Preferred Sources
The president of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, according to what he has learned Italpresswould have convened the regional council for today, October 8, at Palazzo d’Orleans, in Palermo. “More urgent measures” are on the agenda. The Governor could announce his resignation.
The governor could reveal his decisions on the choices to be made in light of the internal tensions in Forza Italia after the words of the party commissioner on the island Nino Minardo on the need for “a completely new political proposal”, which has effectively closed the door on the hypothesis of a repeat of the 2027 regional elections.
Wednesday
Schifani had gathered his staff and some regional parliamentarians at Palazzo d’Orleans, seat of the Presidency of the Region. Already on Wednesday there were rumors of imminent resignation after the “Armao case”. The tension then increased and the rumors circulated again in the evening.
Yesterday Schifani had immediately denied the rumors circulating in the afternoon after what had filtered during the meeting called by the commissioner of Forza Italia in Sicily Nino Minardo with the provincial secretaries of the party.
Now, the President of the Region opens up to a scenario full of unknowns: «I take note of the statements of the Honorable Minardo. In these hours I am evaluating, with a sense of responsibility, the decisions to be taken, which I will communicate shortly.”
According to what ANSA has learned, there was also a high-voltage telephone conversation between Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani and Schifani. The crux would be Schifani himself’s re-nomination for the 2027 regional elections: the president takes it for granted while in Rome doubts about an encore would have increased.
The Armao case
What inflamed the climate within Forza Italia was in fact yet another judicial case which, this time, involved Gaetano Armao, for whom the Prosecutor’s Office requested his arrest for corruption, accusing him of having taken bribes when he was head of the Specialist Technical Commission (CTS) for the environmental authorizations of the Sicilian Region on wind and photovoltaic energy, a mandate which had expired at the beginning of August. Armao, who also had an office in the Presidential Palace which was searched, immediately resigned as legal advisor to the governor.
The Roman headquarters would not have liked Schifani’s reaction to the request for arrest: «As regards the investigation into Armao, I refer to the words of the prosecutor de Lucia: the presumption of innocence applies, there will be investigations, but nothing to do with the activity of the regional government». Meanwhile, the regional Anti-Mafia commission, chaired by the regional deputy of the Democratic Party Antonello Cracolici, announced this morning that it will launch a fact-finding investigation into the recent episodes of corruption that have emerged within the regional administration. And the first to be heard at the hearing will be President Schifani himself.
Close to Totò Cuffaro at the end of the 90s, so much so that he was proposed as a candidate for mayor of Palermo, the lawyer Armao is among the protagonists of Sicilian politics of the last 30 years. He was Councilor for the Economy in the government of Raffaele Lombardo, then in 2017 Silvio Berlusconi, after meeting him in Arcore, nominated him for the presidency of the Region only to then withdraw his candidacy after the agreement reached with Nello Musumeci who won the elections with Armao who was appointed, once again, to lead the Councilor for the Economy. After the very brief parenthesis with Carlo Calenda who nominated him for governor four years ago with Azione, Armao has returned to the centre-right ranks.
Possible resignation: the options on the table
Meanwhile, in Forza Italia the Sherpas are apparently working to try to heal the fracture. A three-way clarification – Tajani, Schifani, Minardo – is on the table, but there is no certainty or date yet. There is therefore concern in the party about Schifani’s possible resignation and consequent early closure of the legislature. In the case of resignation, the first window to vote would be December 13th and until that date the government would limit itself to ordinary administration. No stability measures at the end of the year and the Region is in temporary operation, with compressed spending and significant problems during the crucial months of the electoral campaign. On a political level, the vote in December would also have a direct effect on first-term regional deputies, because the pension threshold of 4 years, 6 months and 1 day only matures in May 2027. Dissolving the Assembly early would therefore mean interrupting the legislature before the pension requirement has accrued for many parliamentarians.
Having established that Forza Italia’s intention is not to re-nominate Schifani, the party’s calendar would instead provide for elections no earlier than February. And therefore the hypotheses on the table are now all attributable to piloted resignations, to be formalized in December after the Budget. But Schifani immediately said that he will not let himself be simmered and announced communications on his intentions for today.