“If it happens, the Strait Bridge is an opportunity. In the end, we’re talking about a road and a road is neither right-wing nor left-wing, there can’t be ideology.” Thus the president of the Sicilian Anti-Mafia, Antonello Cracolici (Pd), speaking at the regional assembly of Confcooperative, underway in Palermo.
«I read some of the reactions following my speech at the Confcooperative della Sicilia assembly, between amused and amazed. As often happens, those who comment are people who, never having anything to say, comment on what is said by others. With the aggravating circumstance that they don’t delve into what they talk about, but simply comment on the titles. I repeat my not being against the Messina Strait Bridge out of bias. I’m not and never have been. I have always expressed this opinion of mine in all forums, inside and outside my party. But the paradox is that this controversy over my speech breaks out both from those who say ‘no regardless, and by right-wing exponents who demand the restart of the procedures to build a bridge that our grandchildren are unlikely to see.” This was said by the president of the regional anti-mafia commission Antonello Cracolici (Pd).
“I said and repeat that to finance the start-up of the bridge, only 1.2 billion euros were used for infrastructure works for Sicily – he adds – In short, Salvini and the Meloni government want to build the bridge at Sicily’s expense. deafening silence of Sicily, but also of national politics, both of those who say no without ever going into the merits of things, and of those who, like foolish servants, pretend not to see that all this is a robbery of the dramatic infrastructural deficit of our region. I repeat: if the national government wants to build the Bridge, which I consider a road, even if complex and intriguing from an engineering point of view and in some ways an opportunity for the South, it must invest with its own resources in this work and not take resources away from a land that needs to intervene on roads, railway networks, ports and airports“.
“But even on my political front, someone believes it is more reassuring to say ‘no’ to the Bridge rather than challenge the right to put national resources into it – he concludes – I’m sorry, but you will never get me to discuss with the Yes and No supporters without going deeper and study the things we talk about.”
“The statements of the Hon Antonello Cracolici, in favor of the construction of the Bridge over the Strait, it is his legitimate opinion which remains so in his personal capacity. His words certainly do not reflect the position of absolute and firm opposition to the construction of the mega project undertaken by the national Party and at regional and local level” writes, in a note, the Provincial committee of the Democratic Party Messinaafter the recent statements of the regional parliamentarian.
In Cracolici, the Messina Democratic Party also recalls the official line of the national secretary, Elly Schlein, who, “at the last regional Unity Festival in Agrigento, reiterated that a very expensive, harmful and anachronistic project is being discussed”while the demands and needs of Sicily go in a completely different direction.”
“The Bridge is just an opportunity for Matteo Salvini and the League to carry out electoral propaganda on the skin of Sicilians while Schifani, imagining he can divert over a billion euros from cohesion funds to put them on the Bridge, is canceling the present and the future of our land”, concludes the provincial coordination of the Messina Democratic Party.