interview
Roberto Balzaretti comments for the first time on Giorgia Meloni’s demand that Italian investigators take part in the investigation of the Crans-Montana disaster. One thing in advance: The Prime Minister is running into open doors.
01/28/2026, 07:3401/28/2026, 08:08
Stefan Bühler / ch media
The Crans-Montana disaster stirs up the Italian public. Six young people from Italy were killed. The government in Rome is harshly critical of Switzerland. In the middle of this storm stands Roberto Balzaretti, the Swiss ambassador to Italy. In an interview with CH Media, the father of five children also gives insight into his personal feelings after the night of the fire.
The funeral of Riccardo Minghetti in Rome. The 16-year-old Italian died in Crans-Montana.image: Riccardo Antimiani/EPA
Mr. Ambassador, do you remember the moment you found out about the fire disaster in Crans-Montana?
Roberto Balzaretti: Yes, it was early in the morning of January 1st when I woke up and read the latest news.
Did you immediately realize that this accident is having a major impact on Italy – and will therefore also concern you as the Swiss ambassador in Rome?
No. I wasn’t thinking about my job at that moment. I was very shocked, I couldn’t believe it. I thought about the victims, the families affected. And also to my own children, who weren’t in Crans-Montana, but you don’t always know exactly where they celebrate New Year’s Eve.
On January 1st, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her condolences to all the victims. In the meantime, the mood has deteriorated considerably, Meloni is accusing Switzerland of the investigations in Valais. How deep is the relationship crisis between Italy and Switzerland?
There is no interstate crisis, but there is dissatisfaction with certain decisions made by the Valais investigative authorities. As ambassador in Rome, it is my job to remind people that in Switzerland – and this also applies to Italy – the judiciary must act independently of politics. One can criticize, but one should not forget this principle.
“I can understand that people are annoyed”: Roberto Balzaretti.image: Jean-Christophe Marmara/Oryx Pho
Do you understand that people in Italy are upset about what happened in Crans-Montana?
I can understand that people are angry. Not just in Italy, also in Switzerland. But mistakes can happen. The point is that the authorities recognize these mistakes and correct them. And that those responsible will be sanctioned. However, based on these errors, it is not appropriate to have a discussion about Switzerland and its legal system.
Were you summoned by the Italian government and did you have to answer questions there?
No, but I’m available. Every day I can explain our procedures, our federalism, the way we work. But so far I have not been invited by the Italian authorities.
This amazes me: Italy withdraws its own ambassador from Bern, but doesn’t speak to the Swiss ambassador in Rome?
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani himself gave the answer to this question. He stated in a television program that the Swiss ambassador to Italy would only be summoned if there was a diplomatic problem, and that was not the case.
Now Prime Minister Meloni called for joint investigations between Switzerland and Italy on Monday. Otherwise the Italian ambassador would not return to Bern. Can Switzerland meet this demand?
Italy, specifically: the Rome public prosecutor’s office, submitted a request for legal assistance on January 13th. This was delegated to the Valais law enforcement authority via the Federal Office of Justice, the central office for international legal assistance in Switzerland. Italy has also requested a meeting at a technical level before a decision is made on the request for legal assistance. The request for legal assistance should be responded to by the end of the week. But a meeting between the Rome public prosecutor’s office and the Valais public prosecutor’s office is already scheduled for mid-February. Cooperation between the Italian and Swiss judicial authorities in the Crans-Montana case is already underway.
Giorgia Meloni is calling for joint investigations.
In this regard, there is a protocol to the European Mutual Assistance Convention, which has been used very often between Switzerland and Italy. However, this is usually more about fighting organized crime.
Can Ms Meloni’s request be met on the basis of international treaties?
Yes, but the decision rests with the judicial authorities. That’s why I can’t say anything about it.
Why is the investigative authorities meeting only in mid-February and not earlier?
Because the parties concerned – the Valais public prosecutor’s office and the Rome public prosecutor’s office – had to find a common date. It is not a delay on Switzerland’s part, but the first possible date for the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In Italy the criticism is directed against Switzerland. This is less the case in France, where you were also ambassador. How do you explain that?
The French authorities are also following the events in Valais very closely. France lost nine citizens in the accident and 23 were injured, some seriously. The interest in properly coming to terms with this catastrophe is as great in France as in Italy.
But much less polemical.
France’s government appears to be more discreet. Everyone in Italy, France and we Swiss too want a clear answer to the question of what happened on New Year’s Eve and how it could have happened. And then we want justice. That is what should concern us, not the polemical tones.
Some of the victims come from influential northern Italian families – does this influence the political reactions from Rome?
I don’t believe. I see the reason for the deep dismay in the fact that the young people lost their lives on New Year’s Eve, one of the biggest celebrations of the year. And this in a country like Switzerland, which stands for order and security. This is unbelievable in Italy. That’s why the reaction is so strong and so quick.
Is it a disappointment towards Switzerland?
Yes, that’s probably true.
Switzerland’s image in Italy is damaged, will this last longer?
Crans-Montana was a place traditionally visited by Italian guests. It is clear that what happened has consequences for the image of Crans-Montana in Italy. But to be honest, this question is not the focus of my concerns. We must now ensure that we fully clarify the events and hold those responsible to account. We must look after the relatives of the victims, the families of the many injured who will now suffer for years, perhaps a lifetime.
Recently, voices have been raised in Switzerland saying that Italy should not complain but rather solve its own problems. The bridge collapse in Genoa has not yet been fully resolved. How is this received in Italy?
Not good because it sounds like a cheap excuse. The young people died in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. This shouldn’t have happened, but it did. Now we have to show that we can learn from this so that something like this doesn’t happen again. There is no point in rehashing old stories to lessen the significance of the tragedy in Crans-Montana.
What is needed from the Swiss side beyond coming to terms with it: an official apology from the Confederation, generous compensation?
What we owe to Italy, but also to ourselves, is the truth. Then it is justice for all victims and their families. And support in every way: medical, financial, psychological. That’s the only possible excuse. Words are important, but actions are more important.