Here is the text of a brief interview I gave for the 20h00 edition of TG1 on Thursday 10 January, regarding the issue of responsibilities in the Campania Region:

David Sassoli: Minister Antonio Di Pietro is here with us this evening. Good evening Minister.
You have heard about the controversy regarding the waste disposal emergency and you have had some harsh things to say about Governor Bassolino. Are you convinced that the governor’s resignation would help in resolving the problem?
Antonio Di Pietro: Firstly, good evening to everyone. You see, I believe that in politics, just as with everything else in life, it is unacceptable to pass the buck by maintaining that someone else is always to blame. The person that made the mistake must bear the consequences, even in politics, and it is wrong for those who have contributed to the error to be called upon to remedy the error. Let me say, with much regret, that Bassolino is not the only individual in this situation and this begs the question “Where has the judiciary been all this time?” Perhaps the courts have been a little lax, conniving or intimidated and have therefore not made use of the iron fist that was needed in order to make the decisions that needed to be made.

David Sassoli: Minister, at the majority summit, you spoke about the economy and the electoral law. What are you most satisfied and what are you least satisfied with? There are great expectations regarding today’s meeting.
Antonio Di Pietro: Firstly, let me talk about the method, and here, please allow me to make a newsworthy point in that the meeting turned out to be both agreeable and one of agreement. A meeting in which we worked very well, although I’m not sure whether there were many good intentions or many good outcomes.

David Sassoli: These are unusual words in terms of political language.
Antonio Di Pietro: Having said this, I am not sure whether it was due to genuine political maturity, a sense of responsibility, or a fear of being sent home. In this regard, however, we accepted the task of re-launching the productivity within the companies and, above all, employee salaries, by allocating significant resources to these areas, in fact, the entire 2008 excess, as well as a series of tax reductions and tax concessions for the most disadvantaged workers and for increasing productivity.
These are the good intentions and I would like to support these with a sense of responsibility and good faith, in the hope that it will be so.
There were many of us, a complete condominium.