Rome Defies New Anti-Establishment Mayor With the Same Old Problems -<br />By GAIA PIANIGIANIMARCH 22, 2017<br />ROME — It has not been an easy nine months for Virginia Raggi since she was elected Rome’s first<br />female mayor on the promise of cleaning up city hall and ushering in transparent governance.<br />Opponents have long painted a fragile picture of Ms. Raggi as a hostage to her own inexperience — she was a lawyer who began working at City Hall only in 2013 —<br />and to squabbling and division within the Five Star Movement.<br />Even with the rise of the Five Star Movement, “the difference between certain attitudes<br />and old-time political parties is little,” Claudio Cerasa, editor of the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, said.<br />“In a way, the Five Star Movement is a huge trade union for those who have been cut off,” said Mr. Damilano, the political commentator.<br />“Rome’s administrative machine was stuck or worked under a flawed logic known to everyone,” Ms. Raggi said, explaining<br />that her staff is trying, almost from scratch, to restore a law-based system for public bids and other municipal services.<br />“We are cooking with the ingredients that we have,” Ms. Raggi said, referring to<br />the city’s managers — many of whom were hard-working, she was quick to add.
