(see related)Opposition parties on Tuesday said they may submit a no-confidence motion against Lombardy Governor Roberto Maroni after his deputy was arrested on corruption charges earlier in the day.
Deputy Governor Mario Mantovani from Silvio Berlusconi's center-right Forza Italia (FI) party was expected at a Day of Transparency event on lawfulness in public administration organized by the region, but was taken into custody before he could show up.
Regional councillors from the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) however did attend the event - and brought a crate of oranges with them.
"The oranges for Maroni, in case he goes to visit his deputy in jail," they told reporters.
During the event, Councillor Enrico Brambilla from the center-left Democratic Party (PD) told his M5S counterparts that his party is ready to table a no-confidence motion against Maroni, who is from the rightwing, anti-immigrant Northern League party.
"We'll start drafting a document in the next few hours," replied Dario Violi from the M5S.
Violi went on to call for the Maroni administration to step down.
"We're ready to govern," he added.
The M5S is Italy's second-largest party after Premier Matteo Renzi's PD.
"I don't know what to say," said Giovanni Toti, a fellow FI member and governor of the neighboring Liguria region.
"I hope he can prove his innocence".
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