The Altieri case at ANAC: first the appointment, then the U-turn. What happened?
The Northern League member nominated by the Council of Ministers has withdrawn his candidacy following 24 hours of clashes with the opposition over the independence requirements laid down by law. A new procedure is now required
Trifone ‘Nuccio’ Altieri’s appointment as president of the National Anti-Corruption Authority lasted just over a day. On Thursday, the Council of Ministers had initiated the procedure to appoint the former MP from Puglia, who is now a member of the Lega. During the same session, it had also initiated the procedure to appoint Lega MP Giulio Centemero as commissioner of Consob, a move also contested by the centre-left. But by Friday evening, the decision had already been reversed.
Following discussions with Giorgia Meloni and Deputy Prime Ministers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani, Altieri withdrew his candidacy ‘for reasons of political, institutional and personal expediency’. He nevertheless maintained that he possessed “the necessary qualifications and expertise” and expressed regret at “the media attacks and controversies”.
The regulation
The issue is a regulatory one. Article 13(3) of Legislative Decree No. 150 of 2009 excludes from the Authority’s leadership anyone holding elected public office or positions within political parties and trade unions, as well as anyone who held such positions in the three years prior to their appointment. The opposition pointed to 18 September 2024, when Salvini entrusted Altieri with the Lega’s Defence Department: just over two years ago, and therefore within the three-year window. Party sources countered that Altieri never actually took up that role.
Having joined the League in 2017, following his election to the Chamber of Deputies with Forza Italia and stints with the Conservatives and Reformists and Direzione Italia, he is said to have immediately informed Armando Siri, the departments’ coordinator, that he was unavailable as he was already on Leonardo’s board of directors. Siri confirmed this in a letter dated 27 September, which stated that the appointment resolution had been ‘revoked for all intents and purposes’.
Clash with the opposition
Until midday, the government had defended the appointment without reservation. Meloni had stood by the decision – “it was within our remit to do so” – and Salvini was confident that “everything was entirely above board”. The government also maintained that it had given the PD and the M5S advance notice, ‘without them expressing any opposition or reservations’.
