The reply from the “losers” arrives promptly, consuming the first controversy of what promises to be a summer. The minority groups in the Regional Council responded with a joint note to Occhiuto, who harshly attacked the minority: «He has exceeded the limit of decency».
The object of the dispute is the revocation of the health commissioner, or rather the findings of the Court of Auditors have now been overcome, according to the centre-right majority. “Get over it: you’re a bit unlucky, but Calabria is no longer as unlucky as before,” the governor said among other things in a video on social media with vehement tones. «Seeing President Occhiuto so tense and nervous in his latest social performance – the PD, Tridico Presidente, Movimento 5 Stelle, Casa Riformista – Italia Viva and Southern Progressive Democrats are now writing – has aroused in us displeasure and also a certain tenderness. A video that probably brings out the true face and real weaknesses of those who are unable to deal on the merits with those who have a different idea, and who in politics consider the opponent not as an interlocutor, but as an enemy to be insulted. In this scheme, it’s not whoever argues best who wins, but whoever offends most.”
«Hit rock bottom»
The opposition believes that “rock bottom has been reached in terms of institutional respect and courtesy”, creating “the worst example that a representative of the institutions can give”. The minority groups remind Occhiuto that “even in the face of the most sensational cases – including those linked to investigations that directly involve him – the opposition has always maintained a serious and dignified tone”. And again: «It is striking that the president goes so far as to define the opposition representatives as “losers”. Perhaps he considers himself very lucky to be president in Calabria; but the history of this region teaches that political fortune always has an expiry date, while the problems left unresolved remain on the shoulders of the Calabrians.”
On the merits of the issue, the Democratic Party, Tridico President, 5 Star Movement, Casa Riformista – Italia Viva and Southern Progressive Democrats consider the alleged “attempt to confuse the waters by presenting everything as a simple problem between the Court of Auditors and Palazzo Chigi as “embarrassing”, as if it were an abstract question that does not concern Calabria”: in fact, it is underlined, “the request for new insights into the process for leaving the health commissioner comes directly from a institutional body with precise control functions, and concerns the Calabria Region and all Calabrians. It’s not a minority post, it’s not an opinion: it’s an official act.”
Deputy Anna Laura Orrico, Calabrian coordinator of the M5S, adds: «The serious observations of the Court of Auditors are just a “hiccup”. Opposition councilors who ask for clarification are “losers” and must remain “silent”. The judicial investigation in which he is involved (and which brought us back to the elections) defined as “bullshit”. And what will you say about the Cosenza Prosecutor’s Office which, we read in the press, is asking for documentation of the agreement between Unical and the Annunziata hospital? With an eye to get out of the corner, he once again indulges in some indecent statements. Verbal violence not in keeping with his institutional profile. Make peace with your role and give the Calabrians some answers on the merits.”
The M5S MEP, already a candidate for the presidency of the Region against Occhiuto, Pasquale Tridico, also goes down hard: «Occhiuto’s distraught reaction is not unprecedented, we also noticed it in the electoral campaign, but now, for the first time in years, in Calabria, there is a lively, united opposition, capable of pressing the Council on the documents and numbers, to the point of forcing the president to lose his temper in a video. Today’s insults are, paradoxically, the best certificate of effectiveness of our work. We ask Occhiuto for a simple and institutional thing: come to the Regional Council to explain the findings of the Court of Auditors to the Calabrians, with the documents in hand, and not on Instagram with insults in your mouth. The Calabrians do not expect champagne from anyone but shorter waiting lists, departments with staff, a health fund divided according to real needs.”
Finally, the political secretariat of Democratic Progressi Meridionali: «The alleged “historic passage” of the end of the Calabrian health administration was only a pure propaganda operation, a political barter carried out in Rome on the skin of the Calabrians in exchange for the green light to the pre-agreements on differentiated autonomy. Today the very serious findings raised by the control office of the Court of Auditors dismantle the narrative of regional governance and certify the total absence of structural prerequisites”.