Italian Minister Stops High-Speed Train, Gets into Scandal
Italian Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida stopped the train he was travelling on to change to a car and make it to a government event. The opposition accused him of abuse of power.
This was reported by Fatto Quotidiano and Politico.
The minister and several employees of his ministry were travelling by regional high-speed train from Rome to the city of Caivano. But the train, which was already an hour late, began to run even further behind schedule.
Lollobrigida then approached the conductor and said that he was a minister and was expected in Caivano, where he was to inaugurate a railway station. "I need to get off... What can we do to get off the train?" he asked.
The railway workers contacted the train coordination centre and received permission to stop the train in an emergency. Lollobrigida and his team got off.
The Italian opposition reacted sharply to the incident, accusing the minister of abuse of power.
"If Minister Lollobrigida really stopped a high-speed train at a station on the Rome-Naples route and then got off and drove on by car, we are witnessing an unprecedented abuse of power. Ministers can use public transport, but they cannot stop trains that other citizens are travelling on. If the news is confirmed, we will ask the Chamber for Lollobrigida's resignation," said former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
His words were echoed by Agostino Santillo of the Five Star Movement. "In a normal country, a minister should resign immediately for such an abuse of power, which involves the use of public service for personal gain," he said.
To this, Lollobrigida replied that the train allegedly stopped not only for him - other passengers could also get off. "I asked like any other citizen. And I will not resign," he retorted.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani explained that Lollobrigida "had been not going on holiday with his family, but to see Caivano... he was doing his institutional work, so it was an official reason."
The country's main rail operator, Trenitalia, said the extra stop had not increased costs or caused further delays.
According to Politico, Lollobrigida is the brother-in-law of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.