The tragic landslide of Ischia agitates politics and also shakes the government .

Controversy triggered a comment by Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin who, speaking of the alarm for illegal building that increases the risk of environmental disaster, declared: «It would be enough to jail the mayor and all those who let the mayors must not let it be built".

Words that gave rise to a flurry of replies, even within the Council of Ministers.

For Matteo Salvini , Minister of Infrastructure, rather than picking on the mayors it is necessary to "secure the country, which is fragile".

Nello Musumeci , who has the ministerial delegation for civil protection, admits that Pichetto Fratin's words may have been misunderstood. And he explains: "It is necessary to guarantee a constant presence of the state alongside the mayor because often criminal organizations are behind illegal building".

But the statement by the environment minister triggered a vehement reaction from the mayors. "Minister Pichetto Fratin's comment on the tragedy of Ischia, while the missing persons are still being sought and the victims are counted, is unacceptably vulgar and denotes grave ignorance of the subject," comments ANCI president Antonio Decaro . Adding: "We are sure that it does not represent the government's line on the long-standing and dramatic issue of the hydrogeological instability of our territory, its responsibilities, and who and how we can take shelter".

"If Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin refers to what happened in Casamicciola, I think he doesn't know what we're talking about," thunders Giacomo Pascale , mayor of the Ischia town of Lacco Ameno.

«If the speech is in general - adds Pascale - make a law that provides for the arrest of mayors. If you think this solves the problem, proceed immediately".