“Tragedies of this magnitude are always inevitable. Damage can only be limited with serious structural prevention. I don’t have a complete picture of the interventions carried out in Emilia Romagna against hydrogeological instability and I don’t want to stir up controversy. However, it is clear that the problem exists and it is national». To raise his voice after the flood and the many dead in the area, Nello Musumeci, Minister of Civil Protection and Maritime Policies, in an interview with Il Messaggero. In particular, the former president of Sicily identifies a responsibility: “The lack of prevention is the problem. Over the years, with diverse resources, the State has made significant resources available to its agencies against these emergencies. Several billion. Features left largely unused. There was no awareness of the seriousness of the phenomenon. Spending difficulties are not just in the Regions. Often, the municipalities themselves do not have sufficient technical and administrative structures to place funds in the field”.
“It is – continues Musumeci – a cultural and political limit. We must work in harmony with the Regions and, I believe, think of an agile and lean structure for the Presidency of the Council. The Regions must deal autonomously with preventing instability, but within a national strategy that has been lacking. The State must limit itself to the role of arbitrator. But if there is a fight on the field, he must intervene by invoking in Rome a competence that belongs to the peripheral articulation. The state must be the state. If an intervention is omitted on a river branch, which can cause destruction and death, Rome cannot look the other way».
«We are thinking of a tool to speed up tenders and consequently the construction of works – announces Musumeci -. Cohesion funds left in the drawer? Used 34%. I usually say that as a former governor, it wasn’t a lack of will, but the ability to spend it. Too many restrictions and too much bureaucracy. We also need to review the legislation on environmental authorizations and, I would say, the competences of the Basin Authorities. Doubts are legitimate about the effective capacity of these structures to fulfill their obligations, due to the vast territorial jurisdiction, the lack of instruments and personnel”.
Source: IL Tempo

Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.