Biella denies honorary citizenship to Liliana Segre and gives it to Greggio. The actor: "I refuse to respect the senator"

The story
Last Thursday the motion of two civic lists of Biella to confer honorary citizenship on Liliana Segre, defined "witness of the tragedy of the Holocaust and interpreter of the values ​​of justice and peace among human beings", favorably received by 5 Star Movement and Forza Italia, had been rejected by the League and Brothers of Italy who had called it "instrumental". A decision criticized in the City Council, and not only.

Today, with a council resolution, comes the decision to grant honorary citizenship to Ezio Greggio «For the television popularity as a conductor, journalist, actor and director; for his constant commitment through the association 'Ezio Greggio for premature babies'; for having contributed to spreading the name of Biella in Italy and in the world ».

The reasons that led the League's mayor Claudio Corradino to offer Greggio the recognition are therefore linked to the career, the commitment to the social and the strong bond maintained with the hometown, Cossato. But against the initiative he immediately lashes out Paolo Furia, regional secretary of the Democratic Party in Piedmont. "There is nothing wrong in itself – he writes on Facebook – in a title of honor to Ezio Greggio, but the timing is thrilling. Doing it exactly the week after rejecting the request to give honorary citizenship to Liliana Segre is a ridiculous provocation ».

Even the Undersecretary of Education, the pentastellata Lucia Azzolina, arises: «Incredible. The mayor of Biella denies citizenship to Liliana Segre, a Holocaust survivor, but does not hesitate to give her, with great fanfare, with a festive announcement on the institutional website, to Ezio Greggio. Without taking anything away from the well-known TV presenter, who certainly knows how to do his job, which contributed to spreading the name of Biella, as the mayor points out, and is also involved in social work, it is hard to understand why he and Segre no. The sense of the institutions would have imposed other choices ".

In the evening, Greggio's rejection. «My respect for Senator Liliana Segre, for all that she represents, for history, memories and the value of memory, push me to take a step back and not be able to accept this honor that the Municipality of Biella had thought of for me, "he says. "It is not a choice against anyone – explains the actor – but a choice in favor of someone, also for the sake of consistency and respect for my values, the history of my family and my father who spent several years in the fields of concentration".