SiAmo Nuoro city councilors Bastianella Buffoni and Pierluigi Saiu are also calling on the City Council to revoke the honorary citizenship granted to Francesca Albanese by the City Council in recent months. The request follows recent statements by the senior UN official, which, according to the signatories, are "extremely serious" and "incompatible" with institutional recognition. The controversy flared up again following the attack on the La Stampa editorial office. Commenting on the incident, Albanese reportedly stated that the actions should have served as a "warning" to journalists "to return to their jobs."
The SiAmo Nuoro councilors deemed these words "disturbing," arguing that they hark back to "dark times" and represent an attack on press freedom. According to Buffoni and Saiu, such statements warrant unanimous condemnation from those in institutional roles: "You can't talk about democracy while winking at those who trample on it."
The two councilors also recall how, during the Tricolore Award ceremony in Reggio Emilia, Albanese had become irritated by the repeated condemnations of the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas, even going so far as to "forgive" the mayor for recalling that episode. Honorary citizenship had been awarded to Nuoro with the favorable vote of the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement, in the context of pro-Palestine demonstrations in the city. SiAmo Nuoro had opposed the decision, arguing that it was the result of an "emotional climate" and recalling that the debate in the chamber had been particularly heated: "Someone had even tried to turn the session into a bullfight against us."
Today, Buffoni and Saiu complain, silence has fallen over that decision: "No one has defended that decision anymore, no one has explained why it should be maintained." Hence the request, described as "simple and necessary": withdraw the recognition. The councilors also cite other similar cases in Italy. In Florence, the Italia Viva group and Mayor Sara Funaro (Democratic Party) expressed their opposition to granting honorary citizenship to Albanese. In Naples, Mayor Gaetano Manfredi (Democratic Party), president of the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI), spoke of the need for "further evaluations" following the City Council vote. "Francesca Albanese does not deserve honorary citizenship of Nuoro," Buffoni and Saiu conclude, "because freedom of the press, pluralism, and respect for institutions are not details, but pillars. Anyone who questions them does not deserve honors, but rather clear and unambiguous political condemnation."