Politics
The case •
Salis excluded from the Boat Show: “If the aim was to divert attention away from me, it backfired.” Meloni: “I’m sorry.”
A row has broken out between the mayor of Genoa and the president of the Boat Show. Sources at Palazzo Chigi have stated that the Prime Minister, who was “surprised and disappointed” by Salis’s absence, has asked for the reason behind his exclusion.
Controversy has erupted in Genoa over the exclusion of the city’s mayor, Silvia Salis, from the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 66th edition of the Boat Show. “I must say that if the aim, as rumoured, was to take the spotlight off me, I don’t think it has been achieved,” said Silvia Salis, commenting on her exclusion and taking a dig at the organisers and the Boat Show’s ceremony. “I represent the city of Genoa,” the mayor added, “so I have no intention of stirring up controversy. It was a shame, of course, not to be on stage. However, what I want to convey to you is a sense of service towards our role. These are not personal roles; they must not be personalised in any way.”
Present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, however, were Prime Minister Meloni, the president of Confindustria Nautica, Formenti, and Regional Governor Marco Bucci. Sources at Palazzo Chigi have indicated that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “was surprised and disappointed to find, during the opening ceremony of the Genoa Boat Show, that Silvia Salis was not present on stage”. The Prime Minister is also said to have asked President Formenti why Salis was absent, learning at that moment that it had been a mistake on the part of the Boat Show organisers. Regional President Bucci also stated that he had known nothing of Salis’s exclusion from the stage: “It was a decision made by the Boat Show’s ceremonial organisers; as mayor, I have always taken to the stage.”
Meanwhile, PD Senator Filippo Sensi has come to Salis’s defence, writing on social media: “Leave them be if they don’t invite you onto their stage. It’s a slap in the face for Genoa, not for you. They’re afraid of a proper debate, you little pests.” Regional councillor and Democratic Party faction leader Andrea Orlando was also harsh: “We’ve reached a level of arrogance that borders on the ridiculous. It would be laughable if incidents like this weren’t yet another sign of institutional decline.”