ROME, April 13 (Reuters) – Italy’s Antitrust agency
should intervene against the appointment of former energy and
environment minister Roberto Cingolani as CEO of defence group
Leonardo, the leader of a green opposition party said
on Thursday.

As part of a raft of nominations at state-controlled firms,
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration on Wednesday
picked Cingolani to lead Leonardo, replacing former banker
Alessandro Profumo.

Opposition lawmaker and Green party leader Angelo Bonelli
said the appointment violates a conflict-of-interest law that
prevents ministers from taking on jobs at companies in sectors
they previously regulated in the 12 months after leaving office.

“Leonardo operates also in the environmental sector and
Cingolani was ecological transition minister in the previous
government led by Mario Draghi until October 2022,” Bonelli
said.

Italy’s Antitrust authority declined to comment on Bonelli’s
statement, while text messages to Cingolani went unanswered.

Cingolani has a background as a physicist and has in the
past months informally advised Meloni’s office on energy policy.
He was previously Leonardo’s chief technology and innovation
officer.
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise Armellini; Editing by
Kirsten Donovan)