The defunding of the Bridge over the Strait of Messina continues to fuel the “no” front, which speaks of an increasingly clear political signal against a work deemed useless and harmful. After the stop by the Court of Auditors, the reduction in resources was welcomed as further good news by the former “environmentalist” mayor of Messina Renato Accorinti, who has always been against the construction of the infrastructure. «It is another positive piece of news – he states – which removes further ground from under the feet of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini. But we must not let our guard down: the fight is still long.” According to Accorinti, the Government has never really supported the bridge project. «She never married him decisively – he underlines – and he became a toy in Salvini’s hands». A work which, he reiterates, “is worth an entire budget”, due to the enormous amount of public resources involved. «Everyone must wake up and understand that the Bridge over the Strait does not only concern the people of Messina». The satisfaction of the former mayor, however, remains conditional: “I will only be happy when the Stretto di Messina Spa company closes, a tap that is always open, and when there is no longer any talk about Ponte.” The objective, for Accorinti, is clear: to allocate those resources to the South. «We have an Italy split in two and it is always the South that succumbs. And I don’t agree. Let’s not let our guard down: let’s say one “no” and a thousand “yes”. Yes to roads, highways, railways, water, schools and hospitals.” The committees against the work are also on the same line.
For the former Environment Councilor of the Accorinti council Daniele Ialacqua, of the No Bridge – Capo Peloro committee, «The defunding of 3 billion euros is the further card that is removed from the bridge of cards built in recent years by Minister Salvini». A step which, according to Ialacqua, should be followed by other institutional stops: «We now expect the Court of Auditors and the European Commission to remove two more cards to definitively bring everything down».
The position of Elio Conti Nibali, of the Instead of the Bridge committee, is even clearer. «The defunding of the 3.5 billion allocated to the Bridge over the Strait of Messina confirms what we have been denouncing for some time – he states –: it is a fragile work on an economic and political level, a recurring promise used as propaganda which risks taking resources away from the real and urgent needs of the territories». A project which, he adds, presents “profiles of illegitimacy also reaffirmed by the Court of Auditors” and which should be definitively abandoned. Conti Nibali finally recalls the urgency of a change of direction in public investment policies: «We must prevent once and for all that resources continue to be drained without responding to the real needs of citizens, who ask for real work, securing the territories and investing in healthcare». Hence the request to the Sicilian Region: «It is absolutely urgent that the billion and three hundred million recklessly subtracted from real development projects be returned».