In Campania, there is a clash over Fico's boat. The centre-right: 'Privileged berth'. He replies: 'It's just a gozzo'
At the centre of the debate is the alleged purchase of a small boat - which he himself described as a 'gozzo' - and its mooring in the port of Nisida, in an area of military relevance. The affair, which arose from some journalistic indiscretions, was immediately relaunched by the centre-right, which accused Fico of inconsistency and of having taken advantage of reserved privileges
Key points
In Campania, a controversy has erupted in recent hours involving Roberto Fico, former president of the Chamber of Deputies and current centre-left candidate for the presidency of the Campania region. At the centre of the debate is the alleged purchase of a small boat - which he himself defines as a 'gozzo' - and its mooring in the port of Nisida, in an area of military jurisdiction. The affair, which arose from some journalistic indiscretions, was immediately relaunched by the centre-right, which accused Fico of inconsistency and of having taken advantage of reserved privileges.
The boat mooring at the Nisida Air Force sports club
According to reports, the former president of the Chamber of Deputies moored the boat at the Air Force sports club in Nisida, after submitting a request - later granted - for security reasons. This is an exceptional concession, generally reserved for a few civilians who hold particularly important institutional positions.
Iannone (Fdi): "Has the purchase of the goitre been declared in the House?"
Senator Antonio Iannone (FdI) asked for clarification on the transparency of the former Speaker's assets: 'Is Fico sure that he declared to the Chamber that he bought the goitre in 2022? It does not appear from the documentation. It would be a serious matter if he had failed to communicate the change in his assets'. Along the same lines MP Marta Schifone (FdI): 'We all remember Fico getting on the bus to go to Montecitorio. Now, while in Rome he was giving lessons in sobriety, in Naples he would moor his boat in a military port at a reduced rate. We ask for clarity: the symbol of the bus cannot coexist with the privileges of subsidised mooring'. Senator Maurizio Gasparri (FI) reiterated: 'He said he had abolished poverty: perhaps he was referring to his own. How did he manage to buy a luxury boat without a salary for five years?". Even Galeazzo Bignami, FdI group leader in the Chamber, spoke of a 'duty of clarity', accusing Fico of 'silence that fuels suspicions'.
Fico: controversy 'absurd and instrumental'
Fico responded by calling the controversy 'absurd and instrumental'. In an interview, he clarified: 'I have never had a boat in an abusive or seized berth, we would miss it. It is just a used gozzo'. The gubernatorial candidate then accused the right wing of wanting to divert attention from Campania's real problems. Irritation leaked from his staff: 'A personal attack without foundation. Fico has always declared everything and has nothing to hide'.
Speaking in Salerno at a meeting promoted by the Spi CGIL, he had this to say: 'By asking me this, you give me the opportunity to say what I think: that the right, as a coalition, is campaigning on a gozzo, where clearly everything is perfect, there is nothing, and therefore all the slanderous accusations they make I reject them because they make inferences that are neither in heaven nor on earth. How is it possible to campaign on a goitre? It means that they have no arguments, it means that they are afraid and try in a clumsy and very childish way to find a way to delegitimise me. But there is no way because the people are with me'.
