Barely weeks after Thomas Brezzo put himself forward as a potential candidate for the presidency of the Conseil National de Monaco, he has been voted in. The 44-year-old will be taking over from Brigitte Boccone-Pagès, the first woman to have ever held the position of President at Monaco’s parliament. 

On the evening of Wednesday 3rd April, during a live broadcast, came the confirmation that Brigitte Boccone-Pagès has been usurped by Thomas Brezzo.

The elected members of Monaco’s National Council, the Principality’s equivalent to a parliament, had convened at their headquarters to renew the members of the Board of the National Council. 

It was in this context that Boccone-Pagès, who succeeded the outgoing Stéphane Valeri as the leader of the elected body in late 2022, has been replaced by Brezzo. 22 votes were cast in his favour, while one ballot paper was left blank. 

Tensions have been bubbling for some time at the National Council, but as recently as Tuesday 12th March, in an interview published in the Monaco Matin, Boccone-Pagès assured the electorate that she was feeling “relaxed, unfazed” by the dissent among her fellow members. 

See more: Interview: Brigitte Boccone-Pagés, President of the Monaco National Council

Then came a heavy blow. 22 of the National Council’s 24 members wrote a letter supporting Brezzo, a 44-year-old lawyer, in his candidature for the presidency. He would go on to announce his intentions to run against Boccone-Pagès in the columns of the Monaco Matin newspaper. 

Boccone-Pagès remained silent, continuing on with her official duties, but it became increasingly clear that her status as president was untenable, and that she was very likely to lose the titular role. 

On Tuesday 2nd April, the day before the deciding vote was cast, Boccone-Pagès published an open letter to Brezzo, addressing him as the “self-proclaimed president”. 

With words rich in historical and literary references, and full of metaphorical imagery, Boccone-Pagès counselled, “Revolutions are always made in the name of admirable principles, formulated by so-called great men, dissatisfied with their fate and who have not been covered with honors as they wished.” 

“You rallied the wolves by uttering wild cries, but the wolves did not respond, since there can only be one and it is you,” she continued. “So it was only lambs and vipers who followed you, and if as the rumour claims, you seek honors and gold, well I offer you the honour of taking my seat, and I leave it to you to look for the gold, where it shines.” 

After comparing Brezzo to the controversial Pope Sixtus V, while noting his “dream of being a modern-day Cincinnatus”, her stinging letter presses on. 

“I do not hate you and if that were the case you would have noticed it. At least promise me not to bite your tongue, I would be terribly sorry to see you suffer by poisoning yourself.” 

The letter, which was published on social media, concludes with a weighted warning: “Teaching others lessons is good, but above all being an example is better.” 

SEE ALSO:

Interview: Brigitte Boccone-Pagés, President of the Monaco National Council

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Photo source of Brigitte Boccone-Pagès: Conseil National de Monaco