Diplomacy Italy's ambassador reacts to criticism from Cassis
Italy's ambassador in Bern, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, has responded to criticism from Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in an interview with the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung". "I speak directly. That's my style," said the ambassador.
07.05.2026, 05:30
SDA
He always says what he thinks - but above all what his government wants him to say. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had asked him to pay particular attention to the hospital bills for the treatment of Italian casualties. "And that's exactly what I did," Cornado said in the interview published on Thursday.
In an interview with the online news portal "Ticinonews", Cassis had said that the "endless discussion" surrounding the events in Crans-Montana VS was also animated by Cornado. According to the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, it is the ambassador's job to bring calm to bilateral relations.
At the end of April, Meloni was outraged that hospital invoices and corresponding copies had been sent from Switzerland to Italy. The invoices concerned the treatment of fire victims from the devastating New Year's Eve fire in Crans-Montana.
President Guy Parmelin assured that this would no longer happen. Parmelin said last Tuesday that the Federal Council would look into the question of the settlement of hospital services between the countries concerned on the basis of the applicable legal provisions. The matter should soon be resolved, as Cornado said: "We are close to a solution. It's going well."
