Former civil protection chief
Guido Bertolaso on Friday agreed to stand for Rome mayor in June
elections.
Bertolaso, 65, said he was "honoured" to meet a call from
centre right leaders Silvio Berlusconi of Forza Italia, Matteo
Salvini of the Northern League and Giorgia Meloni of Fratelli
d'Italia.
He said the "family reasons" that had prompted him to
decline previous calls had now been resolved.
Bertolaso, who has a degree in medicine, gained credit for
his handling of a string of emergencies including the waste
crisis in Campania, the region around Naples.
The 'can-do' former civil protection chief from 2001 to
2010 was handed controversial and sweeping powers by Berlusconi
over major events and has faced probes over bid-rigging and the
2009 L'Aquila earthquake that killed over 300 people.
He was cleared of wrongdoing.
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