Trentino council majority split over Court of Auditors nominee

A significant political rift emerged within the governing majority in the Trentino regional council concerning the nomination of a member to the regional Court of Auditors. What was expected to be a routine confirmation process turned into a contentious debate, ultimately leading to the rejection of the proposed candidate and a public display of internal division.

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In Trentino, it would have been difficult to find a person more unpresentable, more unprepared, more inadequate for this role than him. I thought it was a joke.

The candidate in question was Lorenzo Bertoli, the director general of Cassa del Trentino. His nomination faced strong opposition, particularly from Filippo Degasperi of the Onda party. Degasperi vehemently criticized Bertoli, calling him "unpresentable, unprepared, and inadequate" for the role. He accused Bertoli of being "the main responsible party for a 30 million euro hole in the Province's budget," linking it to derivative contracts and alleging that Bertoli had been misleading the public for years about the financial implications.

Degasperi further pointed out that the Court of Auditors itself had previously identified a "serious shortfall of resources" related to these derivative contracts. He argued that appointing Bertoli, who is allegedly responsible for this financial mismanagement, to a position within the very body that oversees such matters would be a serious conflict of interest and an embarrassment. "Fugatti should be ashamed," Degasperi declared, referencing the regional president.

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Bertoli is the main responsible party for a 30 million euro hole in the Province's budget.

Other council members also voiced their disapproval. Francesco Valduga of Campobase questioned the appropriateness of appointing someone who is "controlled by the Court of Auditors" to become a controller. Alessio Manica of the Democratic Party lamented that this was the second instance where President Fugatti had chosen "guarantee figures" without seeking consensus with the opposition.

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It is not a person whose competence can be celebrated.

The situation escalated when Walter Kaswalder, an autonomist council member, proposed Barbara Balsamo as an alternative candidate. Kaswalder expressed deep disappointment, stating that the nomination of Bertoli felt like a "punch in the stomach." The final vote saw Bertoli's nomination defeated, with the opposition and a segment of the center-right backing Balsamo, who was then elected. This outcome effectively put President Maurizio Fugatti and his preferred candidate in the minority, highlighting a significant fracture within the ruling coalition.

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If I had received a punch in the stomach out of the blue, it would have hurt less.