Ignazio Marino, who had been mayor since 2013, stepped down after Premier Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party yanked its support for him. The mayor, who has always denied any wrongdoing, withdrew his resignation Thursday, saying he wanted to take his battle to the city council.
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More than half of Rome’s elected councillors resigned en masse on Friday in an attempt to oust the mayor, Ignazio Marino, after he backtracked on a pledge to resign.
He never formally left office and in his original resignation letter, he said he could reverse his decision if he felt the political mood had shifted.
However, that does not appear to have happened.
The withdrawal of the resignation risked plunging Rome into chaos, and was also seen as an embarrassment to Renzi.
Many Romans complain city services such as trash collection, road maintenance and transport have got worse under Marino.
Milan Prefect Francesco Paolo Tronca, center, arrives at Expo 2015 world’s fair, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, October 31, 2015. They have held several rallies in his defence since he first announced his resignation.
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Dozens of Democrats and opposition center-right politicians and businessmen are under investigation for systematic payoffs and kickbacks or for using Mafia-like intimidation methods to win public contracts under previous administrations. These events came just five weeks before the start of the “Jubilee of mercy” to the Pope Francis, with effect from 8 December until November 20, 2016.
