M5S quits Puglia Region positions after new arrests

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 11 - Ex-premier Giuseppe Conte said Thursday that the members of his 5-Star Movement (M5S) holding positions in Puglia would quit after the southern region's political sphere was hit by a fresh round of arrests on Wednesday.
    Conte's announcement is a new blow to efforts for Italy's opposition parties to join forces in order to rival Premier Giorgia Meloni's ruling centre-right coalition.
    A former member of the Puglia regional executive, Alfonso Pisicchio, the leader of the Sud al Centro party, was put under house arrest on Wednesday along with his brother in a corruption probe.
    Last week Conte announced that the M5S would not take part in primaries to select the centre left's candidate for upcoming local elections in Bari after the Democratic Party's (PD) Anita Maurodinoia resigned as Puglia regional transport councillor when it emerged she was among the people under investigation in a probe into alleged vote buying in the province of Bari.
    That decision irked the PD, the other main opposition group.
    Bari was already at the centre of political tension after the central government launched an inspection of the municipal administration for possible mafia infiltration following another probe.
    Bari Mayor Antonio Decaro, a PD member, says the move, which could lead to the city council being dissolved, is linked to June's local elections in the city.
    "We are reading political news that is also judicial news," Conte said.
    "We aren't just fighting Meloni and her associates. We won't give an easy ride to those on our side either.
    "We want to shake things up in a big way.
    "It's time to clean things up and clean the slate. We must root out bad politics.
    "We renounce our role in the (regional) government, we give up all our mandates".
    The M5S is part of the coalition that supports Puglia Governor Michele Emiliano's coalition in the regional assembly.
    The M5S's Rosa Barone is part of Emiliano's executive, holding the role of welfare chief, while Grazia di Bari is the councillor with the culture portfolio and Cristian Casili is deputy president of the regional assembly. (ANSA).