Delmastro Accuses Magistrate of Speaking ‘Like a Mafioso’

Turin: Justice Undersecretary Andrea Delmastro caused a fresh storm Tuesday by saying that a magistrate who said Premier Giorgia Meloni was “more dangerous than Berlusconi because she has no criminal probes against her” was speaking like a mafioso. “The magistrate who feels urges to justice says that Meloni is dangerous because she has no probes: that’s what mafiosi say, not magistrates,” Delmatro reportedly told a conference on justice and security organised by his and Meloni’s rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party in Turin.

According to Ansa News Agency, centre-left parties accused Delmastro, who has been convicted of revealing official secrets to embarrass opponents, spurring controversy, of using “extremely serious” words, “incompatible with his role,” and urged Meloni to take action against him. One opposition MP said his words ‘smacked of castor oil”, a punishment used by Fascist thugs on opponents.