Rome’s Five Star Mayor Gets Trash Ultimatum From Political Rival

(Bloomberg) -- Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi got a warning from a political rival over the capital’s trash crisis.

Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Lazio region that includes the capital, told Rome’s waste-disposal agency to clean up the city within seven days or he’d create a commission to do the job. Garbage around “sensitive’’ sites such as hospitals, schools, markets and restaurants must be removed within 48 hours, Italian newspapers quoted him as saying on Friday.

The move is politically charged because Zingaretti is also head of the opposition Democratic Party, while Raggi is a high-profile figure in the populist Five Star Movement led by Deputy Premier Luigi di Maio. Raggi responded by accusing Zingaretti of making “ridiculous promises” and saying he has failed to come up with a waste-management plan for the region in seven years.

Raggi is come under increasing pressure for the piles of garbage and overflowing refuse bins that mar the streets of the capital. Il Messaggero published photographs of several locations where Russian President Vladimir Putin would have seen uncollected waste during his ride through Rome on Thursday. Matteo Salvini, head of the League party and Italy’s other deputy prime minister, has also clashed with the mayor over the issue.

Rida Ambiente, a company that manages Rome’s waste, said it can’t increase capacity, according to Il Messaggero. It’s unclear if the Lazio region has the power to impose a solution on the capital.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ross Larsen in Rome at rlarsen2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, Andrew Blackman

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