Rome Defies New Anti-Establishment Mayor With the Same Old Problems -
By GAIA PIANIGIANIMARCH 22, 2017
ROME — It has not been an easy nine months for Virginia Raggi since she was elected Rome’s first
female mayor on the promise of cleaning up city hall and ushering in transparent governance.
Opponents have long painted a fragile picture of Ms. Raggi as a hostage to her own inexperience — she was a lawyer who began working at City Hall only in 2013 —
and to squabbling and division within the Five Star Movement.
Even with the rise of the Five Star Movement, “the difference between certain attitudes
and old-time political parties is little,” Claudio Cerasa, editor of the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, said.
“In a way, the Five Star Movement is a huge trade union for those who have been cut off,” said Mr. Damilano, the political commentator.
“Rome’s administrative machine was stuck or worked under a flawed logic known to everyone,” Ms. Raggi said, explaining
that her staff is trying, almost from scratch, to restore a law-based system for public bids and other municipal services.
“We are cooking with the ingredients that we have,” Ms. Raggi said, referring to
the city’s managers — many of whom were hard-working, she was quick to add.
