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Rome's mayor tweets his anger at blocked roads for President Abela's State Visit
Update 2 | Tweets by Rome’s mayor Gianni Alemanno expressing anger over blocked roads for visiting Maltese President George Abela, causes political stir in Italy
21 March 2012, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
2 min read
President George Abela and Mrs. Abela in their car in Rome this morning as they left the Campidoglio
"It is impossible to continue paralysing an entire city," claimed Rome's mayor Gianni Alemanno in a tweet he wrote this morning, and later spoke to journalists who echoed Roman's outrage over closed roads and diversions for Maltese President George Abela's entourage.
"I believe that it is time to review protocol and water it down so as not to disrupt life in the capital," Alemanno told the media shortly after hosting President Abela and his delegation at the Campidoglio, the seat of the Roman mayorship.
"It is ridiculous that for anybody to lay a wreath at the foot of a monument that all the city comes to a halt," Alemanno said in another tweet.
Answering journalists after his tweets, Alemanno added that "in agreement with our guests, we could arrange something which is has a lesser impact on the traffic in this city. We have had to block all traffic in the historical centre causing major disruption this morning."
He added however that "President Abela had nothing to do with the chaos, but was none-the-less very welcome in Rome.
Yesterday, streets in Rome were also blocked as President Abela was received at the Quirinale Palace by President Giorgio Napolitano, and later by Prime Minister Mario Monti at Palazzo Pamphili, and Speaker of the House Gianfranco Fini.
Photo : Rome's Mayor Gianni Alemanno and President George Abela at the Campidoglio in Rome this morning. The long car entourage can be seen on the right.
Rome's Mayor Gianni Alemanno waves to President George Abela and Mrs. Abela as they leave the Campidoglio.
Meanwhile, Gianni Alemanno's tweets and comments to the media have triggered an immediate political reaction from his opponents, as the Democratic Party group leader (PD) for Rome Marco Miccoli said that "Alemanno has something to say about everything, but forgets he is the Capital's Mayor. Did he only discover now that Rome's traffic comes to a standstill when the city recieves dignitaries? Why is it that he always has to blame somebody else? Now he's blaming Mario Monti?" he said.
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He was not referring specifically to our President's visit. Rome at best is daily congested with traffic, with all the one-ways rightly created in the last decade to preserve her historical monuments. Blocking even those one-ways for protocol purposes certainly angers the Romans, who see these arrangements as unnecessary. That the Roman mayor spoke now and not before, i would not like to be mixed up in Italian politics. It is too complicated. But i repeat i do not see this as something to do with our President. As Mayor, he should, however, have been more careful how to word his frustration (he may have been, himself, held up in a traffic jam because of all this!)
