Embattled Rome mayor resigns after expenses row

Rome's embattled mayor, Ignazio Marino, resigned on Thursday in the midst of an expenses row and after facing mounting pressure in recent weeks from critics blaming him for the sorry state of the Italian capital.

"I have made my decision: I am handing in my resignation," Marino said in a statement addressed to the citizens of Rome, adding that he had lost the support of his own Democratic Party and that the "political circumstances" that would allow him to stay no longer existed.

Under Italian law, Marino's resignation will take effect in 20 days, after which a commissioner will take charge of running the Eternal City until an election to replace him is held.

Marino has been under fire for months, facing mounting public anger over the litter-strewn and pot-holed state of the city's ancient streets, a failing public transport system and organised crime's infiltration of the municipal authority.
Most recently he had faced media scrutiny over restaurant bills settled with a city hall credit card over the course of his two years and four months in office.

In a Facebook post earlier Thursday, Marino wrote he had agreed to pay back 20,000 euros ($22,600) in expense claims, saying that while all the money had been spent legitimately on official entertainment, he would cover the cost as a personal gift to Italy's financially-strapped capital.

Marino appeared to be hoping to draw a line under the affair with the gesture, but it became increasingly likely he would be forced out after newspapers then published evidence suggesting that at least a handful of the paid-for dinners had been attended only by Marino and his wife.

Source: AFP