Minister Musumeci “torpedoes” Bonaccini: “He cannot be the commissioner of a reconstruction that can last even 9 years. The flood could have been contained”. Confindustria: “Stop the political clash”

In Emilia Romagna “could the flood have been avoided? No, in those dimensions it could not have been avoided. The damage could have been contained”. So the Minister for Civil Protection and Marine Policies, Nello Musumeci, speaking at the Green & Blue Festival in Milan. “In Italy and also in Emilia Romagna – she explained – there has been a lack of prevention”.

A territory “at zero risk does not exist”, explained Minister Musumeci, but “in terms of prevention we all have a duty to contain it: this can be done with careful prevention work”. According to Musumeci “in the last 30-40 years certain politicians have preferred to look at reconstruction rather than prevention” when instead “we have to think about the preventive phase with the involvement of everyone – he added – even those who are convinced that prevention does not bring votes “.

“In Italy and also in Emilia Romagna – he concluded – there has been a lack of prevention” but in the words of the minister “there is no political reference” with current events because “this is not the time for report cards and controversies. I am convinced that the challenges ahead of us are not only linked to the ability to compete, in quotation marks, with climate change” but also “to a culture that is strongly rooted and conservative and coming from a conservative it seems to me a paradox. When I talk about change I I am also referring to my political side”.

The president of Confindustria Charles Bonomi he curtails politics: “It strikes me that after a month we still don’t have a commissioner” for the areas affected by the flood. “There are values ​​that go beyond political confrontation. We don’t have time to waste, a month has gone by and we are still deciding who does it, how they do it. I hope the solution will be found soon”.

“This government believes that the president of a region must be the president of the region, says Musumeci on the subject -. To be the commissioner of a reconstruction that can last up to 9 years, you need a person who can dedicate himself exclusively to this day and night But it’s not a topic that exists now,” added the minister. “The president of a Region can never be totally excluded from a reconstruction process – he concluded – this does not mean that he has to act as extraordinary commissioner, even if we cannot exclude him”.

The minister’s words sparked a reaction on the left. “Nine years for the reconstruction in Emilia Romagna? But what planet does Minister Musumeci live on? – replies the deputy dem of the Productive Activities commission in the Chamber, Andrea Gnassi.- Mayors, the region, businesses and the third sector are and were already ready to leave again nine days after the flood, rather than nine years. In the definition of the decrees for supports and infrastructures it is necessary to decide now, immediately, permanently involving local authorities and territories with their social and economic fabric. It is they who know harm and necessary action. Perhaps in Rome they would like to refer to the ‘nefarious Italian tradition’ of postponements and inefficiencies. Instead, we need to start again immediately and we need an efficient, transparent commissioner structure that holds together actions and measures for the emergency and reconstruction, and it is clear to everyone that it must be led by those who know the area well”.

“The nine-year forecast for reconstruction evoked today by Minister Musumeci sounds like a prophecy of doom. The government shouldn’t waste any more time and immediately identify the commissioner structure equipped with resources and able to follow extraordinary procedures”. The mayor of Cesena says so Enzo Lattucaresponding to the Minister for Civil Protection.

“He has great courage, if we opened the book of disasters in the Sicily Region we would have to be on the air for at least ten hours” he says Francesco Boccia, president of the senators of the Democratic Party, in Tagadà on La7. “For us and also for all the mayors, the president of the Region is the institution with the responsibilities closest to the citizens, and he has a name and a surname”