“Is the Municipal Police of Messina perhaps a bargaining chip to repay electoral commitments and promises?”. The question is asked by Mirko Cantello, municipal councilor of the League and new vice president of the Chamber, which announces the presentation of a complaint to the Court of Auditors and speaks of a “farce” regarding the failure to renew the appointment of Commander Stefano Blasco. Cantello accuses mayor Basile of never having responded to previous requests for clarification,
“but after having made a short extension of the first command, he waited for the expiration of the same to pull the plug on Commander Blasco and send him home without too many compliments. Obviously Basile did not deem it necessary to provide any reasons for the reasons for the doctor’s leave. Blasco, limiting himself to declaring that he prefers to have a new commander available for the next 36 months, i.e. for the residual duration of his administrative mandate. We have looked into the issue in depth and the Mayor’s explanation is not only unconvincing, but is contradicted by the administrative documents themselves. In fact, the first thing to highlight is that at present there is no nomination for a new Commander, nor of Commander Maurizio Cannavò of Ragusa (indicated verbally by the Mayor as successor) or others. We are in the field of mere declarations, which have no legal value.
The second thing we would like to highlight is that, while Blasco is sent home, Giardina simultaneously receives the appointment of Acting Commander, thus returning to simultaneously assume the role of commander of both the Municipality of Messina and the Metropolitan City, without having passed a selection process nor having the necessary rank to hold this position. Because one thing is certain: we in the League Group would be very pleased if Commissioner Giardina received the position of Commander of the Local Police, but if this is not possible (because he does not have the necessary rank or because the Administration does not want him in this profile) we do not understand what is the point of using him as a pawn on the chessboard, burdening him with two managerial roles which also expose both entities to possible financial claims for the tasks performed. And so we arrive at the third point: why would the Mayor have chosen to appoint the current Commander of the Municipal Police of Ragusa as Commander of the Municipal Police? We do not know that Dr. Cannavò made a request for command, nor does it appear to us that the Municipality of Messina has published a notice to acquire the availability of individuals, in possession of the relevant qualifications and interested in taking on this role. So the question is, if Dr. is really appointed. Cannavò, of an ad personam appointment, which although it may be abstractly legitimate, turns out to be morally incorrect because it is an expression of personalistic practices that expose the administration to the suspicion of resorting to patronage policies. In fact, we ask ourselves what is the reason why Mayor Basile, a member of Sud Gioca Nord, should resort to appointing a person who has always been close to the center-right and to the former governor Musumeci. In yesterday’s press we read that a possible motivation could be found in the support provided by De Luca to the Mayor of Ragusa in the last local elections. If this were the case, and we hope that this is not the reason, it would mean that this appointment is nothing other than the price of a political exchange as a first republic, the same one that De Luca attacks by claiming his alleged moral superiority when in fact he would do better to keep quiet.”
