“There was some glitch. But it is criminal to think that it was decided not to attempt help»- Corriere.it

Minister Nello Musumeci, as a Sicilian, former president of your Region and now as Minister of the Sea, who is responsible for the shipwrecked people of Steccato di Cutro?

“What incontrovertible elements do we have to be able to suspect someone? There are investigations. Eventually someone will take responsibility.”

Should we wait years?

“We’d all like to know how it went tomorrow. But we will wait for the truth.”

The opposition calls for the resignation of ministers Piantedosi and Salvini.

“26,040 migrants have died in the last 10 years.”

And so what?

«Does Piantedosi have something to do with it? Does Giorgia Meloni have anything to do with it? Does the center right have something to do with it? The responsibility could have belonged to everyone, from the grillini to the Pd, but none of us thought of accusing the ministers Lamorgese, Cancellieri, Alfano or Minniti. Do I have the right to think about political speculation?”

In Piantedosi those words about the shipwrecked people who weren’t supposed to leave are contested.

“They don’t represent his thinking. From a very good prefect we cannot expect him to also be a good communicator. After that …”

After that?

“Whatever is said in these hours is bound to trigger controversy. Although death imposes silence and prayer there are still those who continue with defamatory accusations. So I’m launching an appeal, let’s stop pigeon shooting. The party congresses are over.’

Why the delay in the rescue? Does it exclude dissuasive inputs?

«Probably there was some flaw in the supply chain, but I refuse to think that someone said not to intervene. It is criminal to think so.”

What do you mean?

«Meloni has repeated everywhere that those who are drowning have the right to be rescued. And the rules on NGOs do not affect this principle”.

There are those who stigmatize the premier’s absence in Cutro.

“He doesn’t need to expose his pain. I worry about those who pretend to be grieved, and there are many, but have never made a single, miserable, minimal proposal to stop shipwrecks”.

Will what happened to Cutro still happen?

“Unfortunately, as soon as the bad weather ends, the situation in the Mediterranean will be even worse than in past years. Once the Turkish route has been tested, thousands will leave».

Put your hands forward?

“I give a cry of alarm. An epochal phenomenon cannot be stopped with bare hands in the face of an EU that has so far looked the other way”.

Has the premier achieved anything?

“If in the European Council of 23-24 March one of the topics on the agenda is that of a common policy for the Mediterranean, it is due to his tenacity and foresight”.

In the concrete?

«He neutralized the fear of an Italy that would have been isolated. She was well received. And you had everyone’s support for your strategy ».

That is to say?

«Blocking departures to get those who have the right to arrive safely with the Mattei plan, which means cooperation with a different approach: mutual development. Now let’s take action.”

What do you expect?

«The EU has never committed itself in a concrete and serious way. Erdogan had 6 billion to neutralize the Balkan route. Now there is this by sea. That’s what the EU is for. After these deaths, I hope that what logic didn’t do, the heart will do”.

You are also facing the drought emergency. Will we have dry taps in the summer?

“I don’t believe it. But it is no longer an emergency, but something to live with. We need a turnaround: sobriety and less waste».

But what will the government do? Will ponds be built?

«In Sicily I financed and had them built but they don’t solve it. We need infrastructure. New constructions and maintenance of the existing one».