“Huge figure.” And the end-of-term email appears –

Christian Campigli

March 21, 2024

Is it right to use (a lot of) public money to make the city aware of the work done by a mayor at the end of his five-year mandate? A mayor who, according to palace rumors, should also run in the European elections. It is from this question that the group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the city council in Florence, Alessandro Draghi, started. The conservative exponent discovered that Dario Nardella spent 572 thousand euros (public) on communications for the end of his mandate. “To understand the enormity of the figure, this must be compared to the same campaign in 2019, at the end of the first mandate, when Nardella had spent four times less: 121,544 euros – underlined Draghi – Questioned with a question time, the deputy mayor Bettini I have read a long series of arguments that are quibbled to say the least. And it’s still not enough: Bettini has also announced that another 100 thousand euros will be spent before the mayor’s dismissal. We remain convinced that, apart from the representatives of the Democratic Party, perhaps those who have ambitions of election next June, the citizens’ opinion on committing so much public money to advertising the administration that has been led is not exactly positive. And we also believe that the Florentines don’t have a ring in their nose, and that they are well aware of the failures and insufficiencies of the municipality of Florence led by the Pd and Nardella, you want to communicate”.

But it’s not enough. The lily councilor decided to move from political complaints to real ones. And so, two days ago, he presented a complaint to the prosecutor’s office of the Court of Auditors, who will now investigate to understand whether or not there have been any wrongdoings. “Among other things, I discovered that another 100 thousand euros will be spent. An unacceptable waste. Furthermore, I find it disconcerting that the material that was produced for Nardella was made by a company without having held a public tender, but with only a direct assignment. Company that charged 97,600 euros for 7 videos, 210 photos and drone footage. And it is also the same company, Futurevox of Genoa, which oversaw Elly Schlein’s electoral campaign, but what a coincidence. The time when the left treated public coffers like a feeding trough is over. I’m not stopping.” Draghi also discovered a further flaw in the mayor.

“I received a copy of an email sent last autumn by the mayor’s office to all the Municipality’s subsidiaries, in which a celebratory and summary video of the end of Nardella’s mandate was requested; for which not only internal expenses but also further companies controlled by the Municipality. I am aware that Parcheggi, Mercafir and Firenze Smart were certainly sent to Florence”. A series of emails, viewed in our newspaper, which contained the following indication: “as anticipated for the short ways, they are to request that a video be made by Firenze Parcheggi for the end of the administrative mandate of the Mayor of Florence”. A complaint about the waste of public money, also shared by Matteo Renzi. Who, during the last Leopolda, had frontally attacked his ex dolphin. “There are those who try to get on the winner’s bandwagon, or presumed winner, who are now spending 450 thousand euros on end-of-term propaganda and paying for local newspapers”.