Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said
Tuesday that he was happy to report to parliament after sparking
a furore by warning of elements within the judiciary forming
"judicial opposition" to Premier Giorgia Meloni's government in
an interview published in Corriere della Sera on Sunday.
In the interview, the minister was reported as saying he had
"heard about meetings of a faction within the judiciary in which
they talk about how to 'stop the anti-democratic drift Meloni is
leading us to'.
"Since we have seen all sorts of things in the past, if I know
this country, I expect this season to open soon, before the
European elections," said Crosetto, a member of Meloni's
right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
The interview sparked an angry reaction from Italian magistrates
union ANM, with its president Giuseppe Santalucia accusing
Crosetto of spreading "fake news which has no foundation and
hurts the institutions".
Santalucia called on Crosetto to "dispel suspicions and
shadows".
Opposition parties also moved to condemn the remarks, with
ex-premier and 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Giuseppe Conte
saying they amounted to accusing part of the judiciary of being
"subversive" and many MPs calling for Crosetto to report to the
Lower House as soon as possible.
There have also been calls for him to file a report on the
allegations to criminal prosecutors.
Crosetto has denied waging an attack on the Italian judiciary,
saying his comments were an expression of concern.
"Having spoken about public meetings held by associations, it
seems to me that there is not much to report (to prosecutors),"
Crosetto said Tuesday.
"If they want me to report on it in parliament I'll gladly do so
"However, since I am not the justice minister, I prefer to do
so, out of institutional respect, in committees such as as the
anti-mafia commission or Copasir (the intelligence-oversight
commission).
"I'll let them decide which they think is best".
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