Italy’s ambassador to Bern, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, responded to Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis’ criticism in an interview with the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”.
May 7, 2026, 7:38 amMay 7, 2026, 7:38 am
«I’ll speak out directly. That’s my style,” said the ambassador. He always says what he thinks – but above all what his government demands of him. The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked him to pay special attention to the hospital bills for the treatment of Italian injured people. “And that’s exactly what I did,” Cornado said in the interview published Thursday.
Italy’s ambassador in Bern, Gian Lorenzo Cornado.Image: keystone
Cassis said in an interview with the online news portal “Ticinonews” that the “endless discussion” about the events in Crans-Montana VS was also enlivened by Cornado. According to the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, it would be the ambassador’s job to bring calm to bilateral relations.
At the end of April, Meloni was outraged that hospital bills and corresponding copies had been sent to Italy from Switzerland. The bills related to the treatment of fire victims from the devastating New Year’s Eve in Crans-Montana.
Federal President Guy Parmelin assured that this would no longer happen. The Federal Council will investigate the question of the billing of hospital services between the affected states on the basis of the applicable legal provisions, said Parmelin last Tuesday. The matter should soon be resolved, as Cornado said: “We are close to a solution. “It’s going well.” (sda)