"Be cautious when calling for resignations" and "respect those in government." Former Milan mayor Albertini speaks out.

A thunderbolt has struck Milan: an investigation into urban planning, arrest warrants for Councilor Giancarlo Tancredi and businessman Manfredi Catella, construction sites halted, and dismay over the still-mysterious investigations into key figures who worked on major projects for the city's rebirth, from Expo 2015 to CityLife and the Darsena, amidst skyscrapers and vertical forests. Harsh words are being hurled ("shadow master plan," "suspected disturbance"), and, ahead of the trial, the image of what is perhaps Italy's only European city is being tarnished, governed for the last twenty years by both right-wing and left-wing administrations that have helped shape it into what it is today. For this reason, faced with calls for the center-right's resignation raining down on the center-left government, former mayor of Milan (between 1997 and 2006) and former center-right senator Gabriele Albertini urges "caution in calling for havoc" and calls for "respect for the executive function of those who govern the city, as well as for judicial action, which exists in a completely subjective context." While admitting that it is "difficult for him to delve into the merits of the charges without knowledge of the documents," and thus expressing "a general opinion" based on initial information, Albertini recalls the work he accomplished during his years as a senator, as the first signatory of the bill on unjust accusations, which was subsequently approved in the following legislature at the instigation of Enrico Costa and Giacomo Caliendo. "Before," says Albertini, "there was no possibility of compensation for unjust charges, only for wrongful imprisonment. At the time, I was concerned with how many innocent people would need to be compensated according to strict criteria, not by statute of limitations or a doubtful formula. The result was a frightening figure: around 90,000 a year. It is also based on these considerations that, when it comes to investigations and accusations, it seems to me at least appropriate to consider the possibility of unjust charges, especially since we're talking about figures who contributed to Milan's development." There's another aspect that the former mayor emphasizes, while "not wanting to lecture anyone": "We governed for two terms and spent over six billion euros on public works, a record, bringing in over 30 billion in capital from abroad and changing the city's skyline. But we didn't even receive a single notice of investigation. Were we just lucky, or did we do something to make this happen?" Albertini says he tried to "prevent" problems of this kind by establishing "an almost symbiotic relationship with the prosecutor's office and establishing an internal audit system, so as to have comprehensive control not only over rules and procedures, but also over the financial appropriateness of the contracts." The goal: "To protect ourselves," Albertini says, "from errors, opaqueness, and inappropriate interpretations, not necessarily malicious or criminal." The former mayor has "the utmost respect for the jurisdiction," but believes that "10,151 magistrates in Italy are a sufficient number to accommodate saints and geniuses, a few hardened criminals, and a moderately capable mass, like lawyers, journalists, and the various professions. The Gaussian curve applies to all of us. So I repeat: be careful when asking for resignations. There's that figure of 90,000 wrongfully accused each year, and a situation that still needs to be clarified. Not to mention the colossal damage to families who had already invested capital in buildings under construction and the impact on the foreign business landscape of the involvement of a real estate developer of Manfredi Catella's caliber." At this point, Albertini is reminded of Montesquieu in "The Spirit of the Laws," when he speaks of the "terrible power of depriving one of liberty," and also of Enzo Tortora, when he spoke of the three categories of people who cannot be held accountable for their own mistakes: children, the insane, and magistrates. "If that's not enough," says the former mayor, "just quote the law: 'No magistrate may be subjected to disciplinary action for evaluating evidence or interpreting the law.' The Catholic Church has established the infallibility of a person, elected by the Holy Spirit, as a dogma of faith; the Italian Republic, however, defines 10,151 people on its staff as infallible and irresponsible in disciplinary matters. That seems enough to me to warrant caution." Insult and damage fall with the evening on a Milan that was experiencing a moment of grace. Saying "shame" perhaps isn't enough. "I hope the investigators think so too."

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