“We will move forward to build the bridge, and we will do it.” From the stage of the Messina demonstration in support of the stable connection across the Strait, Renato Schifani decisively reiterates the position of the Sicilian Region in front of over two thousand participants, including numerous mayors of the two shores.
The president relaunched the value of the work, defining it “the dream of the Sicilians”. “The bridge must be built – he added – we believe in it, we support it, we have co-financed it with one billion three hundred million set aside. We want dreams to turn into reality and we don’t want to give up on this dream”.
“Allied with Salvini to carry out the work”
Schifani also underlined the collaboration with the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, defined as “synergistic” and already concrete. “He will have an iron ally in the President of the Region for the construction of the bridge,” he declared.
The governor then broadened the discussion to include infrastructure policies, highlighting the desire to also intervene on motorways and dams: “We want to grow infrastructure, improve motorway routes, work on dams, and this means working together for our land”.
Criticism of the “no party” and bureaucracy
In his speech there was no shortage of criticism of the bureaucratic obstacles and of those who oppose the work. “Every now and then the control bodies exceed, but I don’t want to get into controversy. The important thing is to have a hard head and move forward,” he said.
Then the attack on the so-called “party of no”: “It doesn’t belong to us, it is what blocks the growth of the region. We are for growth and for the investment of sums.”
Schifani finally highlighted the availability of financial resources, however indicating the real crux in the procedures: “The Region has never had significant resources in its cash register like now. The challenge is not to have them, but to be able to spend them quickly, because quibbles and bureaucracy risk slowing everything down”.