Lucrezia Ciotti The opening ceremony of the 66th Genoa Boat Show has become an institutional incident after Mayor Silvia Salis was excluded from the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Instead, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ligurian Governor Marco Bucci were present, a circumstance that fueled controversy and calls for clarification on the event's organization.
The case during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Genoa Boat Show
The controversy erupted at the climax of the inauguration of the 66th Genoa International Boat Show . As reported by ANSA , Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni performed the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside Piero Formenti, president of Confindustria Nautica, and Marco Bucci, governor of Liguria. Mayor Silvia Salis, despite attending the ceremony, was not invited to the stage.
The episode immediately caught the attention of those present, especially since, according to some reports, Genoa's mayor had previously attended the inaugural ceremony. Salis herself had taken the stage for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the previous edition.
Despite being excluded from the tape, Salis still spoke from the stage afterwards.
In her speech, she reiterated the link between the event and the Ligurian capital: “The Boat Show is the brand that identifies Genoa worldwide and of which we are all proud. The Boat Show and Genoa are an inseparable pair . ” The mayor also recalled the development of the relationship between the city and the sea, citing the new Port Master Plan and the Waterfront that hosts the event.
Genoa Boat Show: Salis excluded from the stage with Meloni: the Prime Minister's phone call
What further complicated the reconstruction was the issue of the ceremony itself . The Boat Show reportedly announced that Salis 's participation in the ribbon-cutting ceremony was planned, while a subsequent clarification maintained that the ceremony did not include the participation of either the mayor or the regional president . In the meantime, however, Bucci did indeed take the stage alongside Meloni. The contradiction between what was planned and what actually occurred has fueled calls for clarification from the opposition.
Marco Bucci himself stated that he was unaware of the decision. " My presence wasn't even planned ," Bucci assured, " so much so that when they called me, I was surprised . " The governor then attributed Salis's absence to a formal decision, specifying that he had no role in the decision.
Even Palazzo Chigi has ruled out any involvement in the affair . According to sources at the Prime Minister's Office, Meloni noticed the mayor's absence during the ceremony and was " surprised and disappointed . " The prime minister asked Formenti directly why Salis was not present, learning at that moment that it was an organizational error. Subsequently, according to ANSA sources , she telephoned the mayor to express her disappointment.
The mayor chose not to publicly transform the episode into a personal clash with the prime minister, instead emphasizing the institutional dimension of the matter. " We are on loan to the institutions; the institutions are not 'ours,'" she stated, adding that public offices "are not personal and should not be personalized in any way ." Salis then implied that, if the intent had been to reduce her visibility, the result would have been the opposite: " If the objective, as rumored, was to take attention away from me, I don't believe it was achieved . "
The mayor also emphasized another consequence of the episode: she wanted to use the Prime Minister's visit to address some issues concerning Genoa . Specifically, Salis wanted to discuss with Meloni the city's needs and the strategic role of its port in the Mediterranean. The occasion, therefore, would not have been merely a formal one, but could also have become a moment for institutional discussion on the Ligurian capital's key issues.
The opposition's attack and demands for explanations following the Genoa case
As reported by Sky Tg24 , the case has attracted criticism from the center-left. Andrea Orlando described the incident as an offense to the city, and emphasized the novelty of the absence of a municipal representative from the inaugural stage. The Five Star Movement , represented by Luca Pirondini, Stefano Giordano, and Marco Mesmaeker , instead emphasized the fact that the mayor institutionally represents the city hosting the event.
Ligurian Democratic Party MPs Valentina Ghio, Alberto Pandolfo, and Luca Pastorino also requested clarification regarding the composition of the stage. The point of contention concerns not only Salis's absence, but above all the fact that Bucci was present despite the organizers' initial indication that the regional president was not included in the ceremony. Therefore, the Democratic Party representatives remain unclear as to who changed the stage composition and on what basis.