Strait Bridge, can funds be diverted to Niscemi?

The resources earmarked for the bridge over the Strait of Messina will not be used to cope with the bad weather emergency that has hit Sicily, Calabria and Sardinia. The indication first came from Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini and then found confirmation from Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, after a day marked by statements that did not always overlap and by an open-minded statement by the Forza Italia vice-premier that shook the walls of the Porta Pia ministry on Thursday afternoon. From the owner of Infrasrutture and Carroccio leader Matteo Salvini, the line was clear as early as the morning: "These are resources for investment," he explained, rejecting the hypothesis that they would be used for reconstruction and security. 'We need to know things,' he added, 'We have almost 30 billion construction sites open in Sicily, how do we do it? Do we block them?" The minister assured, however, that the government will identify the necessary resources to deal with the damage caused by Cyclone Harry, emphasising that 'the bridge is needed by the Sicilians' and that, in the event of disastrous events, 'it could allow for more rapid rescue operations'. In the background is the agenda of the Sicilian assembly, which in recent days has demanded that the regions' funds for co-financing the work be diverted to the areas hit by the hurricane.

From Brussels, Tajani initially adopts a more nuanced tone. the bridge has to be built," he says, "then we can perhaps make some advances, we will talk about it, we will see what can be done and what funds can be used. However, a clear-cut clarification arrived via social media: 'The funds earmarked for building the bridge should not be cut and used to compensate for the damage caused by the bad weather. The Forza Italia secretary reiterates that the proposals on the table will be examined by the government, but clarifies that the hypothesis of using the bridge's resources 'finds us contrary'. On Monday, Tajani will be in Sicily, Calabria and Sardinia to meet with the businesses affected, following the visits already made by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Salvini himself, who will fly over the damaged coastal areas tomorrow. On the European front, Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto recalls the instruments available, starting with the EU Solidarity Fund, recalling that Italy will be able to submit a request for support and that the regions will be able to evaluate changes to the programmes to strengthen the resources allocated to reconstruction.

However, the management of the emergency remains under fire from the opposition, which focuses its criticism on the Minister for Civil Protection, Nello Musumeci, who spoke in the Council of Ministers on the dossier. Musumeci has announced the signing of a decree to set up a commission to study the events in Niscemi, after the 1997 landslide, but he will only report to Parliament on Wednesday 4 February. A choice contested by the minority, which demands a report from the premier and calls for the minister's resignation. Requests destined to fall on deaf ears, as even M5s leader Giuseppe Conte acknowledges, who speaks of a government that is "embarrassing" in its handling of the crisis. Finally, from the Democratic Party comes the call for an extraordinary plan against hydrogeological instability, with the request to review the priorities of public spending and call into question major works such as the Strait Bridge.