Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala denounced as “shameful” the political exploitation surrounding the death of Cecilia De Astis, who was fatally struck by four minors driving a stolen car later traced to a Roma settlement on Via Salvanesco. His remarks targeted Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and other government representatives who had criticized authorities following the incident.
Salvini, leader of the League party, had demanded immediate demolition of the Roma camp after “years of thefts and violence,” calling for arrests of “so-called parents” and termination of parental rights. His social media post challenged: “Mayor Sala and the left, are you there???”—a sentiment echoed by members of his League party and Brothers of Italy.
Sala countered that camp management coordination with law enforcement occurs through the Prefecture, an arm of the Interior Ministry, stressing that Milan has pursued “a policy of overcoming such settlements for years.” He noted that center-left administrations closed 24 camps between 2013 and 2024—four authorized and 20 unauthorized—while center-right coalitions, “now shouting,” closed only one during their governance.
“Using this tragedy instrumentally for self-promotion while ignoring these facts means deceiving citizens,” Sala stated.
The mayor and Salvini concurred on one point: parental accountability for the four underage suspects, all below Italy’s age of criminal responsibility (14). “There’s no doubt the families of those involved must answer for what happened,” Sala asserted, vowing to “demand maximum severity.”
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