Antonio Di Pietro
Antonio Di Pietro ( born October 2, 1950 in Monte di Bisaccia, Campobasso province ) was Italian Minister of Infrastructure in the second Prodi government (2006-2008). Previously, he was a member of the European Parliament, an Italian Senator, and senior investigator in the Tangentopoli scandal (see also Mani pulite ).
Public prosecutor
Born into a poor rural family from the Molise region Di Pietro worked briefly as an electrician, went to Germany as a very young man to earn the money for his studies as a waiter in a restaurant. He completed his degree in Law in, and adjusted to the police. A few years later he began his new legal career as a prosecutor.
Together with other known prosecutors as Francesco Saverio Borrelli, Ilda Boccassini, Gherardo Colombo, Piercamillo Davigo and others, he founded the team Mani Pulite (Eng. " clean hands" ), which determined against political corruption.
In this role, he was investigating hundreds of local and national politicians up to the most important figures, including Bettino Craxi counts; it is assumed that these Silvio Berlusconi 's famous "Warning investigation " ( a legally formal act, are informed with citizens on investigations that are brought against it ) forwarded it, while the Prime Minister held an international meeting on police cooperation.
(Later reformed by Parliament and in Invito a comparire, dt "Invitation to Spectre", renamed ) the identification of warning or Avviso di garanzia in Italy in the years 1992 to 1994 for many Italians as good as a guilty verdict because they have many hated politicians saw exposed by this procedure. Since this is not just a sign of respect for the fundamental principle of law the presumption of innocence ( " innocent until proven guilty " ) can apply, it must be remembered that corruption was so blatant and outrageous that even politicians were embarrassed when they had to be justified because of these accusations. At that time, had any person against whom investigations have been launched within three months after the initiation of releases about to be made.
Di Pietro was quickly because of his strange way of speaking with a clearly audible accent, dialect numerous colorations and dialect expressions, coupled with a resolute temperament of the best known of the Mani Pulite lawyers. However, political opponents saw this property is often a sign of ignorance and some observers were surprised that a senior official and candidate to the Italian Parliament as a crude and precarious knowledge of the Italian language show.
The conflict Di Pietro with Silvio Berlusconi
As Silvio Berlusconi in 1994 on the occasion of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies stormed into politics, many suspected that this be done only to protect his company against allegations of corruption. This suspicion was reinforced on 11 February, when Berlusconi's brother Paolo admitted corruption offenses. Berlusconi offered ever to Di Pietro, the Interior Ministry, which, however, did not accept this. On 13 July 1994, the Berlusconi government presented a bill for the most corruption offenses imprisonment had to be avoided and a new amnesty was granted. The presentation of the bill was carefully placed on the time after the victory for Italy semi-final between Bulgaria and Italy at the football World Cup in 1994, of which the government probably promised that silently in a possible playoff victory of the Italian national team in soccer-mad Italy, the bill by the institutions would be waved. However, when Roberto Baggio missed the final penalty against Brazil and the news photos of the hated corrupt politicians felt that were released from prison, became the public opinion quite a rage; especially images of the former Health Minister Francesco De Lorenzo were startling, as the public looked at the theft of funds that were intended for a hospital as a particularly odious behavior.
A few days later, the police arrested spoke about corruption in Berlusconi's biggest and most important company, Fininvest, Mediaset. Most of the investigation team of Mani pulite said they would respect and enforce the state's laws, but they might not work in a situation in which duty and conscience in conflict stood to each other: They asked for a transfer because they are by the Berlusconi government disavowed saw. Since the government could not afford to be viewed as an opponent to the popular team of judges and prosecutors, the draft law was withdrawn and referred to as a " misunderstanding," said Interior Minister Roberto Maroni brought by the Lega Nord value on the finding that he had not once had an opportunity to read it. Da Alfredo Biondi Minister of Justice, was are allegations, Cesare Previti, the lawyer of Berlusconi's Fininvest company was author of the bill ultimately believable. On July 28, Berlusconi's brother was arrested and shortly thereafter released.
Then began what was commonly referred to as Berlusconi Di - Pietro - battle. During Berlusconi's companies were examined, the government sent " inspectors " to Milan to investigate the offices of Justice to formal irregularities out. There have been no irregularities discovered, but the tactic connected with Berlusconi solid access to the information helped to spread what is referred to in another context as fear, uncertainty and doubt. The battle ended in a draw: On December 6, Di Pietro resigned. Two weeks later, the Berlusconi government resigned shortly before a critical vote of confidence, which would certainly be considered at the expense of Berlusconi.
Di Pietro himself was under investigation in 1997 for his work with the police and the judiciary. The prosecution relied on telephone recordings and witness statements. But the allegations had to be successively withdrawn as baseless and politically motivated as the investigating prosecutor Fabio Salamone from Brescia later as a brother proved by Di Pietro defendants who had been sentenced to 18 months in prison for a number of corruption offenses. It took quite a while before the authorities had realized this, Salamone offset and Di Pietro acquitted after years of all charges.
Minister
After the investigation of Mani Pulite the previously ruling parties ( first the Christian Democrats, then the PSI) had swept away, Romano Prodi Di Pietro appointed as Minister of Public Works in his government team in charge of everything that was primary object of bribery, ie all by the state -funded initiatives. No one was better able to demonstrate to the public that the new government of the left was serious about the goal, with a clean up of corruption once and for all.
Here Di Pietro tried to as " Independent " a controversial section of the main highway between Bologna and Florence enforce what both violent protests by the residents of the targeted area and frightened protests from environmentalists provoked, supported politically Prodi's coalition, but such a plan, the would destroy magnificent valleys and forests of the Apennines, could not accept. When he also was preparing the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome to pass under a tunnel, he was regarded by environmentalists as " guarantor of cement and asphalt as much as possible."
It must be mentioned that Di Pietro himself had previously initiated an investigation against Romano Prodi, but was exonerated by the court.
Political career
After Di Pietro was acquitted of all charges, he began a political career, which he had previously excluded.
He founded the party in 1998 Italia dei Valori ( Italy of Values dt ), who wanted to continue the fight against political corruption in Italy and joined the alliance Democratici by Romano Prodi to on whose list he was elected to the European Parliament in 1999.
In protest against the growing tolerance towards corruption in most of the political parties and the condescending attitude of the political left as Massimo D' Alema towards Berlusconi, he left his party in 2001 not in the left alliance with The Olive compete in elections to the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the was won by Silvio Berlusconi's coalition.
Di Pietro was below the nation's nearly 4%, a quorum must be achieved at least to come into the Chamber of Deputies at the proportional share of the seats. It was only chosen a Senator of his list, who immediately ran over, ironically, to Berlusconi's party.
In the elections for the European Parliament in 2004 Italia dei Valori his party gained two seats. Di Pietro and Giulietto Chiesa, a former communist journalist represent their party in Strasbourg.
In September 2005, Di Pietro candidate in elections for the Roman Senate on the list of The Olive in the constituency Mugello in Tuscany.
In the primaries of the left party alliance L' Unione on October 16, 2005 Di Pietro achieved 3.3 % of the national votes and thus landed in fourth place out of seven far behind Romano Prodi, who decided the candidate primaries for themselves.
He was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sat in the European Parliament in the Judiciary Committee.
He was there also delegate to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and leads the delegation for relations with South Africa.
On 17 May 2006 Di Pietro was sworn in as infrastructure minister in the government of Romano Prodi and had hold office until the change of government on 8 May 2008.
In the parliamentary elections in 2008, the party Di Pietro has entered into an electoral alliance with the PD ( Partito Democratico ). Italia dei Valori His party ( IdV ) reached 4.4% in the Chamber of Deputies and 4.3% in the Senate, which was equivalent to a doubling of the vote.
In February 2013 Di Pietro stepped back as president ( chairman ) of Italia dei Valori, Italia dei Valori after had won in the left alliance Rivoluzione Civile under the leadership of former judge Antonio Ingroia a single seat in one of the houses of parliament.