A very broad coalition (including Calenda) is pitted against the Northern League’s Alteri at ANAC. But the appointment could fall through

Yesterday, the Council of Ministers initiated the procedure to appoint Trifone Nuccio Altieri as the next president of the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC). The decision was taken on the proposal of the Minister for Public Administration, Paolo Zangrillo, in consultation with the Minister for Justice, Carlo Nordio, and the Minister for the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi. Altieri is the candidate chosen to succeed Giuseppe Busia, whose term of office expired in September. However, over the past 24 hours, the nomination has sparked a storm of controversy between the ruling coalition and the opposition. At the heart of the controversy are both the candidate’s membership of the Lega and his role within the party. Whilst the PD has described it as a “regime choice”, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has defended the decision: “It was within our remit to do so.”

But beyond the proclamations, there are the regulations. And it is precisely through these regulations that the government’s decision could be blocked. Article 13, paragraph 3, of Legislative Decree 150 of 2009 – also known as the Brunetta Reform of Public Administration – stipulates that ‘the chairperson and members of the Authority may not be chosen from among persons who hold elected public office or positions within political parties or trade unions, or who have held such offices or positions in the three years prior to their appointment’. The provision adds that "in any event, they must not have interests of any kind that conflict with the Authority’s functions".

The crux of the matter, therefore, remains Altieri’s political appointments. He is a member of the Lega, but has not been a Member of Parliament since 2018, when his term in the Chamber of Deputies ended. By profession, he is a public sector executive. In May 2023, he joined the board of directors of Leonardo, a company in which the Ministry of the Economy holds a stake. In July 2025, he became chairman of the board of directors of Fincantieri Infrastructure, a company within the Fincantieri Group operating in the large-scale infrastructure sector. On the political front, in 2024 he was appointed head of the Lega’s Defence Department. This role could conflict with the provisions of the law, should it be classified as a position within a political party.

And it is precisely these appointments that the opposition has targeted in its attacks today. Walter Verini, secretary of the Justice Committee and leader of the PD in the Anti-Mafia Committee, denounced the move as dictatorial: “The government’s takeover of ANAC’s leadership is dictatorial. The Anti-Corruption Authority must, by its very nature, be independent.” Referring to the relevant legislation, he added: "The government’s move must be withdrawn. Or, at the very least, rejected. The law stipulates that these appointments are valid only following the approval of two-thirds of the relevant parliamentary committees. This provision is precisely what ensures the Authority’s independence. The opposition parties, acting together in unity, can prevent appointments of this kind from being endorsed."

The issue raised by Verini is well-founded and is reflected in the Brunetta Reform itself. The appointment of the president and members of ANAC is, in fact, made by decree of the President of the Republic, following a decision by the Council of Ministers and a favourable opinion from the relevant parliamentary committees, expressed by a two-thirds majority of their members. This is a mandatory and binding step: without the favourable opinion of the committees, the procedure cannot be completed. The opposition parties, if united and numerous enough, can therefore prevent a qualified majority from being achieved.

There is therefore more than a chance that Altieri will not, in the end, take up the post of president of ANAC. But this has not been enough to stop the stream of statements from the opposition, which are targeting the government’s decision. “The political takeover of ANAC with the appointment of Lega member Altieri as its head is pure ‘Melonism’,” said Luca Pirondini, the Five Star Movement’s Senate group leader. “For the first time in the history of the Anti-Corruption Authority, a party politician has been appointed. With the elections just a few months away, whilst the League is in freefall, Salvini is thinking only of handing out positions and securing the future of his loyalists.”

A Federal Council meeting is currently taking place in Milan, which could lead to Massimiliano Romeo being removed as Senate group leader, following Salvini’s reappointment at the Congress. And yesterday, in addition to the appointment to ANAC, another League member was nominated for a post: Giulio Centemero to Consob, as commissioner. The issue of the presidency, which had remained unresolved for months, has now been settled. “It is increasingly evident that on the right and within the Meloni government there is an atmosphere of an empire in decline, and that the objective to be achieved at all costs is to occupy as many posts as possible within state institutions and administrative bodies,” said Nicola Fratoianni. “Giorgia Meloni, who always cites Borsellino as her role model, should make a dignified gesture rather than entrenching herself in matters of government competence: she should withdraw that appointment. Otherwise, she will contribute to writing yet another disgraceful chapter in the history of this government.”

Criticism has also come from Riccardo Magi and Italia Viva, as voiced by Davide Faraone. “I will ask for a review of compliance with the three-year ban already in place for ANAC, particularly in light of Altieri’s recent political appointments, and we will consider tabling amendments to the Budget Bill to extend the ban on appointing anyone who has held elected public office or party positions in the previous three years to other independent authorities that do not currently have such a ban,” said Magi. "If independent authorities become a playground for political parties, the very reason for their existence is lost. It becomes a sort of supplementary political pension scheme at the expense of the Italian people. Votes dwindle, but the seats remain. And perhaps they even increase," said the Italia Viva MP.