Ticino hit by new political scandal
A member of parliament for the southern canton of Ticino has been suspended from the leadership of his local party after becoming embroiled in a new scandal.
Christian Democrat parliamentarian Filippo Lombardi, who was convicted of speeding last year, has been charged with falsifying documents.
Lombardi’s position in the Senate – one of Switzerland’s two parliamentary chambers – is not affected by the ruling.
The party leadership reached its decision after several hours of discussion on Tuesday evening.
In a statement, it said Lombardi had accepted the decision to suspend him from the party leadership “with immediate effect”.
The national party leadership welcomed the move to suspend Lombardi.
“We welcome this decision by the Ticino Christian Democrats,” party spokeswoman Béatrice Wertli told swissinfo. “And it is the Ticino branch which will decide on any further steps to be taken.”
On Monday the justice authorities opened an investigation into the 48-year-old politician who is alleged to have falsified statistics in 1994 and 1995 when he was editor-in-chief of the “Giornale del Popolo” newspaper.
Lombardi, who is now head of the regional television company, TeleTicino, and other members of the paper’s management have admitted that they artificially inflated circulation figures.
Presumed innocent
While censuring their representative in the Senate, the local party stressed that Lombardi must be considered innocent until proven guilty.
But the three other parties in government – the Social Democrats, Radicals and People’s Party – have all called for Lombardi to step down.
The politician has had several brushes with the law. Lombardi was convicted of speeding last autumn – the latest in a series of driving offences.
Two other politicians from Ticino, Flavio Maspoli and Guiliano Bignasca of the rightwing Lega del Ticinese, have both made high-profile court appearances.
Maspoli was convicted of numerous offences, including forging signatures on a petition calling for a referendum, while Bignasca was found guilty of forging official documents and taking drugs.
Local politicians worry that the antics of a small number of leading figures are giving the canton a bad name.
swissinfo with agencies
Career of Filippo Lombardi:
1981-1987: Secretary general of the Youth of the European People’s Party in Brussels.
1987-1996: Editor-in-chief of the Ticino daily newspaper “Giornale del Popolo” in Lugano.
Since 1996: Founder and head of the private television channel TeleTicino.
1999: Elected to the Senate.
Since 2001: President of TeleSuisse, the association of Swiss regional television channels.
2003: Re-elected to the Senate.
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