Italian populists’ poster girl hit by right hand man’s arrest

Rome: Rome’s mayor Virginia Raggi, the poster girl for Italy’s populist Five Star Movement (M5S), suffered a set back on Friday when her “right hand man” was arrested over suspected corruption. The case is not linked to any council activity, but offices at the city hall were raided in the investigation into the official, Raffaele Marra.

A member of Ms Raggi’s inner circle who is currently head of personnel for the capital, Mr Marra is suspected of accepting an illegal payment in connection with a shady real estate deal. Mr Marra was a controversial inclusion in Ms Raggi’s team because of his past employment by prominent right-wing figures in local politics, including former mayor Gianni Alemanno.

M5S prides itself on being scrupulously ethical and having no links to what it sees as a “caste” of sleaze-addicted cronies it says have dominated Italian politics for decades. And its ability to make a success of running Rome, where Ms Raggi won the mayor’s seat in June, is seen as a key test in the run-up to nationwide elections due in the next 15 months.

Polls suggest M5S, headed by comedian Beppe Grillo, will rival the ruling Democratic Party in the battle to emerge from the polls as the biggest party. Ms Raggi faces a tough task in trying to turn around a city grappling with the legacy of years of corruption and mismanagement: pot-holed roads, failing refuse services and inadequate public transport.

Supporters say she is starting to make a difference after six months. But rivals have pounced on a string of resignations and cancelled appointments as evidence that the lawyer is not up to the job. The Democratic Party meanwhile suffered a setback of its own when its high-profile mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, stepped down.