Disorder in both parliamentary chambers

The Italian Parliament witnessed intense arguments across both of its chambers on Wednesday as the governing Fratelli d'Italia (FdI) party and the opposition Five Star Movement (M5S) clashed over the position of Senator Roberto Scarpinato. In the Chamber of Deputies, the dispute erupted immediately following a voting session on article 8 of the electoral reform bill, quickly halting ordinary legislative business. In the Senate, the confrontation escalated when M5S group leader Luca Pirondini brought an official letter sent by FdI that requested Scarpinato's immediate removal from the Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission. Pirondini addressed the floor, tore the document into pieces, and dropped the paper directly onto the floor of the assembly hall. Senate presiding officer Licia Ronzulli immediately halted the proceedings and ordered Pirondini to retrieve the scraps from the floor.

“The chamber is not your trash can.”

Caltanissetta ruling and committee removal demands

The political confrontation centers on a recent decision by the preliminary investigations judge in Caltanissetta regarding the archiving of the mafia-contracts inquiry. In that judicial ruling, the judge cited misdirection activities by Scarpinato concerning the investigation into the 1992 Via D'Amelio bombing that killed magistrate Paolo Borsellino and five police escorts. Following the ruling, FdI lawmakers expanded their campaign beyond the Anti-Mafia Commission, formally demanding that Scarpinato also resign from Copasir, the parliamentary committee overseeing the security intelligence services. FdI Chamber group leader Galeazzo Bignami defended the majority's demands during the plenary debate, maintaining that their position was grounded strictly in the judicial determination rather than party politics.

“This person, according to a judge and not according to FdI, carried out misdirection activities. Show respect for the judiciary!”

Clashes over historical massacres and investigations

M5S lawmakers mounted a forceful collective defense of Scarpinato, describing the former anti-mafia prosecutor as a dedicated investigator working against state-level concealment. In the Chamber of Deputies, M5S group leader Riccardo Ricciardi accused the right-wing coalition of systematically defaming anti-mafia magistrates and attempting to obscure the truth behind historical acts of domestic terrorism. Ricciardi linked right-wing circles to numerous unresolved Italian tragedies, citing the 1947 Portella della Ginestra massacre, the 1974 Piazza della Loggia bombing, the murder of Sicilian governor Piersanti Mattarella, and the 1980 Bologna railway station attack that caused 85 deaths and 200 injuries.

“We not only hold on tight to Roberto Scarpinato, but we believe that if the Anti-Mafia Commission were made up entirely of people like him, today we could confirm what we already know.”

Retorts from Bignami and confrontations in the Senate

Bignami rejected Ricciardi's claims, noting that the 1947 Portella della Ginestra attack predated the birth of current parliamentarians and asking why M5S failed to uncover new facts when it previously presided over the Anti-Mafia Commission. Bignami added personal context to his retort, noting that armed attackers had previously targeted his own family home and shot at his father. Meanwhile in the Senate, Pirondini exhibited photographic evidence from the podium, displaying images of Anti-Mafia President Chiara Colosimo embracing convicted neo-fascist militant Luigi Ciavardini, alongside photos of former justice undersecretary Andrea Delmastro with Mauro Caroccia. Pirondini also highlighted pending legal troubles among FdI members, noting that Senator Daniela Santanchè remains under investigation for INPS fraud while Augusta Montaruli was convicted of embezzlement. Following the session, Pirondini told reporters that Santanchè approached the M5S benches to issue verbal warnings, prompting the opposition to request intervention from Senate President Ignazio La Russa.