Absent from Council, then off to Tanzania: Giovanni Zonzini has come under fire. But before pointing the finger, did anyone think to ask him why? We did. The Rete councillor and secretary rejects what he considers an attempt to exploit the situation for political gain, and explains the reasons behind his travels: first a research stint abroad, then an institutional mission. “Being a councillor in San Marino isn’t a job,” he points out. And to those who present his absences as a lack of commitment, he replies: “I’m not on holiday. All they had to do was ask me.”
Zonzini, what’s the reason behind your absences over the past few months?
“I’m completing a PhD in contemporary history at the University of Pavia. I have a three-year contract and have just finished my second year. I receive a stipend, social security contributions are paid on my behalf, and I have obligations to fulfil. Among these is a requirement of twelve months of research abroad over the course of the three years.”
You insist that this is your job. Why do you feel the need to clarify that?
“Because being a councillor in San Marino isn’t a job: it’s political activity. It isn’t employment that replaces my profession, and it doesn’t guarantee me a pension. Like other councillors, I have another job. In my case, that’s research, and I have to honour the contract I signed. I can’t treat its requirements as optional.”
What exactly did you do during your time abroad?
“Mainly archival research, alongside academic activities and conferences. This year I was in France and the United States, in Washington and New York. I worked at the National Archives in Paris and took part in a conference there as well. These are all part of my research path, and I’m paid for them. I wasn’t travelling for pleasure.”
How long did this period last, and are further absences planned?
“I left on 1 June and returned on 1 October. Next year I’ll also need to spend four months doing research abroad, again to fulfil the terms of my contract.”
That still leaves the question of your participation in Council proceedings. How do you respond to those who criticise your absences?
“My absences stem from a professional obligation, not a wish to avoid Council duties. I’m not even the first councillor to spend a period abroad for work. I understand that people might want explanations, but all it would have taken was to contact me — I would have clarified what I was doing and why.”
A few days after returning, you left again for Tanzania. Why was that?
“This time it was for an institutional commitment with the Inter-Parliamentary Union. San Marino’s delegations include two representatives from the majority and one from the opposition, on a rotating basis. Having just come back from the United States, I’ll admit I would rather have avoided another trip so soon.”
So the mission to Tanzania has nothing to do with your PhD?
“No, they’re two separate matters. In France and the United States I was engaged in my research work. In Tanzania, I’m taking part in an institutional mission as a councillor. I’m not here on holiday — my days are split between the hotel and the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s conference hall.”
So what exactly do you take issue with in the criticism you’ve received?
“The fact that these trips are being portrayed as if they were pleasure travel, or a way of dodging my political responsibilities. I consider that a distorted account. Before writing anything, all it would have taken was to ask me why I’d been abroad for four months and why I then left for Tanzania. No one contacted me, either before or after. Criticism is legitimate, but there also has to be room to explain the facts and to respond.”
