"the image of The no to the Olympics is the extraordinary metaphor of what it means to the Italy of No. I hope that the councillors have a a moment’s reflection". After the calm, the storm. the Matteo Renzi, that in the past few days had used tones institutional after the ” no Virginia Ray to the candidacy of Rome for the Olympics in 2024, he returned to the theme to pull the sprint to the constitutional referendum. "Don’t stop the great works, but they stop the thieves. Instead, if you say no, you are afraid, you stop in front of a great challenge, and prefer to not put the face you have the wrong job", stressed the premier from the stage of a rally for the Yes to the referendum.
"Italy is divided between those who are at the window to watch and those who are in the arena if he sees a thing that does not go to the change. This is the difference between the political and the Sports bar," he then sunk. And again: "The fact of saying that you do not make the Olympics for fear of corruption is an incredible admission of failure from the leadership of the city". Then he reiterated that "if you are looking at eight years if you have a minimum of credibility and authority, you thieves them hunt". Finally, the parallel with the alignments with respect to the consultation of the people.
Only two days before in front of the cameras of La7 the tone had been more conciliatory. "If Ray says no to the Olympics, take note. I never had a controversy with the mayor of Rome, she won the election. I’ll be cheering for Italy. If Rome goes well, I’m glad, if it goes wrong I’m sorry," he said, leaving it to be understood that the game was virtually closed. "Will depend on the municipal council, but if the mayor has decided to say no I guess you think you have the majority with you. If the councillors vote ” no ” no one wants to make the Games against the Municipality," he says. "In the election campaign, the mayor had committed to do in a referendum – he explained, – but the ownership of the decision it is up to you. What I suffer is the idea which it gives of the Country, that is, that the great events you can do why someone steals. This is awesome. It is as if the grillini said: we can not change things".
In reality, the arguments used by the M5S to the suffrage of the No to the Games in the Capital were purely economic. And more against corruption, the Rays had stressed the high costs in terms of public appropriations that the event would have entailed: "it is irresponsible to say yes to this nomination," he said to the mayor at a press conference on the 21st September, stating that while "in 2012, Monti said that we couldn’t afford the Olympics and his position was held liable, today with the economic data clearly worse the Olympics have become a business".
"The Olympics are a blank cheque to sign the host cities – continued mayor – says the University of Oxford in a study". And using a topic that is dear to the M5S in Rome, the first town he warned that "we are paying still the debt of the 1960 Olympic games. And We are still paying the World cup '90. We have finished paying the mutual in 2015.”
