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A major corruption scandal involving more than 100 suspects related to a project to block tidal flows in water city Venice has triggered angry reactions in the Italian society and prompted Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to pledge swift action on graft.
A total of 35 people have been detained in the probe so far, including Venice Mayor Giorgio Orsoni who was put under house arrest.
The dozens of others investigated included professionals and officials of all political colors, suspected of having build a bribery system allegedly worth hundreds of millions.
Investigators also requested the arrest of a former agriculture and culture minister in the government of Silvio Berlusconi and head of Veneto region of which Venice is the capital, Giancarlo Galan. He was allegedly rewarded one million euros (1.36 million U.S. dollars) per year from 2005 to 2011 for his role in influencing tenders.
The arrests made the headlines in Italy earlier this week only days after the upcoming world exposition in Milan was found by the local judiciary to be also mired in graft.
On Thursday, strong reactions came from the government and the society calling for complete intolerance for corruption.
"We will definitely take action in the next few hours and days on public contracts, anti-corruption (measures) and other specific issues," Renzi told a press conference at the G7 summit in Brussels.
"If it were for me, I would put a politician probed for corruption under investigation for high treason," he said.
Echoing his words, Raffaele Cantone, president of the national anti-corruption authority who has also been recently appointed at the helm of a task force to watch over the Expo Milano 2015, said the system of public contracts must be "refought" and defined the recent scandals as "very disquieting."
However, Cantone stressed, improving the anti-corruption law will be not enough to solve an "endemic" problem which especially needs a "political and cultural change" in the country.
Like him, authoritative experts have repeatedly highlighted the need of a change of pace in Italy.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, pre-trial investigating judge in Milan Giuseppe Gennari, who has seen the situation first-hand for years, warned that Italy has to succeed in an anti-corruption mentality shift or "the country will be destined to collapse" under the weight of an insane economy.
Experts from Klaus Davi & Co. communication and pr company during a conference held at the Milan Foreign Press Association on Thursday said the recent probes have harmed the international image of the eurozone's third-largest economy, for which exports are a key supporting factor.
According to national estimates, Italy's illicit economy accounted for as much as 21 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) last year.
"Italy's crisis does not arise from economic weakness but rather from ethical weakness," Nerio Alessandri, President of Technogym, underlined on Thursday.
It has been 30 years since Alessandri developed his first fitness equipment in his garage at the age of 22, and Technogym is today a leading company in the world, which in addition to the partnerships with many international teams has been the official supplier for the past five editions of the Olympic Games.
"As an entrepreneur, I aim to be the most honest possible. I know that aside from being moral, in fact it is convenient in today's transparent world," Alessandri told Xinhua.
"But the whole of Italy needs to realize this fundamental principle in order to return to be a great country," he stressed.
