Beleaguered Rome Mayor Ignazio
Marino was expected to shuffle his council executive on Tuesday
amid intense pressure coming not only from city residents but
from across Italy and even internationally.
Even as Marino announced plans to fix Rome's chronically
dysfunctional public transport system, including firing managers
last Friday, Italian newspapers were filled with headlines
of the capital city's decline coming from such publications as
The New York Times.
Last week, it listed the many problems from unkempt public
parks to strikes by transport workers and the so-called Mafia
Capitale investigation into alleged infiltration by criminal
organisations into contracts in the city.
The Times reported that many Rome residents and
commentators credited Marino for his honesty, but registered
frustration that he was not getting more done.
On Monday Valeria Fedeli, Senate deputy speaker, said the
clock was ticking for Marino to take serious measures to clean
up Rome.
"It is unclear (why Rome) cannot be as clean as other
European capitals," Fedeli, a member of Marino's centre-left
Democratic Party (PD), told RAI.
"Marino has 24 hours to present a team and decide the
program quickly to solve Rome's problems".
As he prepared to shuffle Rome's council and replace three
councillors, Marino was consulting with Matteo Orfini, chairman
of the PD which is led by Premier Matteo Renzi.
Orfini was named commissioner for the PD's Rome branch
earlier this year amid the Mafia Capitale scandal.
Marino announced last Friday he would replace the board of
directors at the publicly held ATAC transportation company, and
would fire managers under whose watch the city's transport
system has degenerated into chaos.
His next move was to ask councillor for transportation
Guido Improta to step down.
"An immediate change of direction is needed," the mayor
said at the time.
As well, the councillor responsible for budgets, Silvia
Scozzese, resigned as did Luigi Nieri, who had been deputy
mayor.
Sources said that the shortlist of eligible candidates for
the post of new councillor for transportation included women
such as Anna Donati, former councillor for transportation in
Bologna and in Naples.
Meanwhile, Marino told the city's budget committee Monday
that he was seeking national government help to update Rome's
crumbling subway system.
Metro lines A and B have long needed new rail lines, with
58.3 million euros budgeted to begin replacements between 2015
to 2017, he said.
But replacing aged infrastructure "has a major cost and
(senior) government participation would be necessary," Marino
added.
On the crumbling ATAC transportation service overall,
Marino said change was essential to avoid throwing good money
after bad, adding he had been meeting with Lazio Governor
Nicola Zingaretti about the system's future.
"It is never intelligent to give a blood transfusion if
there is no chance of recovery," said Marino, a transplant
surgeon.
"I think it is important to search for a private partner to
manage (Rome's) metro, tram and bus system," he said.
Still, about 178 million euros have been allocated in the
2015 city budget for the recapitalization of ATAC.
At the same time, Marino said the city administration is
finally get a grip on its accounting, slashing fiscal emergency
spending by 97%.
Rome's administration has also "cleaned up" its budget
process, applying "rigour and seriousness," he said.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
