I’m publishing the interview that I gave today to the daily paper La Stampa.

La Stampa: Mastella says ‘mi sono rotto i coglioni di Di Pietro’, {I’ve had enough of Di Pietro}. What does Di Pietro say?
ADP: Look, I’m just back from Mugello, where I attended a meeting as Minister of Infrastructure, and already this points out the low level of education of those who attack me. I wasn’t even in Rome. Obviously I accept the responsibility for what has been decided by the Italia dei Valori parliamentarians. But why attack me rather than criticising them?
In this way, Mastella is considering them to be puppets. He is showing a lack of respect to the three of them and not just to myself. Then the phrasing, the bad words. I don’t intend to descend to a personal level. Each person can use his own language.

La Stampa: You use your own way of speaking, then.
ADP: I find Mastella humanly pleasing. I think his personality is pleasing as he speaks in a concise way and uses dialect. He has the courage to say things that many others are thinking but are not saying.
However I don’t intend to reply in the same way in which he deals with us from Italia dei Valori, that is with tit for tat and childish things.

La Stampa: He was really angry. He said that for him politics is science and unlike you all he doesn’t do ‘ambushes’ or ‘blackmail’.
ADP: But what blackmail and ambush! Not just the words that often fly out without control but they can be shrugged off. I believe that Mastella’s approach is offensive.
In the Senate there are people with autonomy who vote with their heart and with their head. Certainly, I share their choices and I accept all the responsibility. But to think that they are puppets in my hands is ungenerous towards them.

La Stampa: You will at least have known what they were doing, won’t you?
ADP: As I said, I was in Bologna dealing with Infrastructure. Certainly I was made aware of an umpteenth episode of purposeful negligence towards ourselves…

La Stampa: Let’s say that they didn’t allow you to flow in the government and you made them pay.
ADP: They didn’t allow us to flow but we don’t want to make anyone pay. We simply want to expose a problem and to try to change a text a little.

La Stampa: Like that however, the first result that you get is to let the right win, though you say that you are against them far more than you are against Mastella. By abstaining you gave a big blow not only to a law that you don’t like but also to the majority. Don’t you agree?
ADP: But the blow is not final! And above all anyway, to get the approval for the law on the abolition of the Castelli reform, the route taken has been support from far and wide without in any way risking the fall of the majority.
Then we have always voted respecting the constraints of the coalition. And I announce even now that in the final vote we will do exactly that. However this was not the final vote. Above all we have always voted “yes” apart from for article 5. Do you want to know why we did this?

La Stampa: Given that it is not as Mastella thinks to be contrary to some person.
ADP: We have done it because in Italia dei Valori’s manifesto, it is written that we will try to change the Castelli reform. However this law that we are discussing is however the fruit of a low compromise with the majority government: so much a kilo to you, so much a kilo to me…
And in spite of this, up until now we have always screwed up our noses, expressing disagreement in all the ministerial sites, but ignored. Now however, enough of treating us like the ugly duckling. The one who is blackmailing is Mastella, not us.
I don’t understand why, when faced with an abstention that is only this – the request to continue discussions a bit more, and to even listen to our thoughts, - the Minister of Justice gets on his high horse so much. We have always respected the coalition and we will continue to do so. But at least that we can discuss and change the text a bit in Parliament. Otherwise what are we here to do?

La Stampa: They say that you and Clemente can’t stand each other, partly because neither of you can take off the clothes you have worn in the past. You as the judge and he as the Christian Democrat who was investigated in the Tangentopoli investigation and coming out absolved from all the inquiries.
ADP: I swear I like Mastella. When he came to Vasto to our celebration we even had the chance to share some laughs together. However he owes us the political respect for Italia dei Valori.

La Stampa: What will happen now? Mastella says: Di Pietro must clarify or resign.
ADP: Resign? I’m certainly not considering it… The truth is that by abstaining we have asked for an act of humility and not one of arrogance and a demonstration of power. We asked this of the Minister of Justice and of the whole government.