ROME – Italy’s parliament on Wednesday approved the creation of an official inquiry into the response to the coronavirus pandemic, infuriating the opposition party in power at the time, who feared it would amount to a political witch hunt. .
The House of Representatives, currently dominated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, approved the bill by a vote of 132 to 86.
Italy became the first Western country to face a health emergency in 2020, and has been fiercely critical of the lockdowns and restrictions put in place by then-centre-left Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government to stop the spread of the virus. It’s a right-wing group.
“This law is a clown show staged by cowards, an unworthy act that tramples on the duties and functions of this House and the entire Parliament for mere propaganda purposes,” said opposition lawmaker Angela Raffa. Star movement led by Conte.
The panel will include members of all political parties in both houses of Congress. Obtain relevant documents and hold public hearings to conduct investigations.
Its mandate will include assessing the readiness and effectiveness of measures taken before the virus outbreak, with a view to dealing with future pandemics, according to the bill seen by Reuters.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 195,000 people have died from the new coronavirus in Italy, making it the second-highest death toll in Europe after the UK, and a public inquiry into the country’s much-criticized response to the pandemic is underway. It is carried out.
Lawmakers in Meloni’s coalition argued for parliamentary scrutiny of a range of issues, including why Italy had not updated its 2006 pandemic plan.
The choices made by Conte and Health Minister Roberto Speranza are likely to be the focus of the commission’s investigation, the results of which are expected to be announced by the end of parliament in 2027.
A lawsuit against Conte and Speranza for mishandling the start of the crisis was dropped last year in the northern city of Bergamo, the epicenter of Italy’s first outbreak.
“I have no concerns about the upcoming investigation,” Conte told the House of Commons after the vote to open the investigation.Reuters