The Italian Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, stopped a high-speed train this Tuesday to get off at an unscheduled station on the route and thus arrive on time for an inauguration.. This act has outraged the opposition, which has requested his appearance in Parliament.
The train, which was two hours late, made an improvised stop on the outskirts of Rome so that Lollobrigida, brother-in-law of the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, could get off, according to the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.
“The stop in Ciampino has not meant any further delays for travelers, nor repercussions on traffic, nor additional costs for the company,” Trenitalia said in a statement, in which it explains the technical failure that caused delays in all connections between Rome and southern Italy.
According to the public company, the train stopped shortly after leaving Rome Termini station “due to what was happening on the line” and a detour was agreed so that it could make a planned stop in Naples before its destination. final.
“After the resumption, the stop was arranged at the Ciampino station, where the institutions present on board got off, in order to comply with institutional commitments,” the company indicated. The justifications, however, have not served to calm the spirits of the opposition parties, who also highlight that the institutional act consisted of the inauguration of an urban park.
“Not everyone can afford to stop a train. Lollobrigida's behavior seems arrogant and unworthy to me,” criticized the opposition leader. Elly Schlein has indicated that she has asked him to appear in Parliament to give explanations.
For his part, the former Prime Minister of Italy and current leader of the centrist Italia Viva party, Matteo Renzi, announced that if the facts are confirmed “he will ask for Lollobrigida's resignation in parliament.” “Ministers can use state vehicles but they cannot stop trains for all citizens,” Renzi said, calling the action “an unprecedented abuse of power.”
In recent months, Lollobrigida has been the protagonist of other controversies, such as when he stated that Italy could not “give in to the idea of ethnic substitution” to maintain its economic and social system.