“I definitely want to remain here as president of the Region until the end of my mandate, I have no ambitions or ambitions, I spend the political roles on a national level to achieve the objectives that Calabria deserves”. The president of the Calabria Region said it, Roberto Occhiuto, meeting journalists at Lamezia Terme airport to illustrate the balance of the first 30 months of his government. “The thing I am most proud of is the new perception of Calabria which, before, was represented as an ungovernable region and where everything happened. We have shown that this is not the case. When I took office there were 2 billion who risked going lost, we have made up for this delay.” In the dossier presented by Occhiuto, the reform of the single number 112, of Sorical and Arrical, as well as those of waste, labor policies and civil protection. “We are stabilizing many young people in the fight against precarious employment and undeclared work, and there are many areas on which we are working and which will produce effects in the coming weeks”.
Regarding the airport chapter, Occhiuto added that, following the acquisition procedure of Sacal by the Region, a further 70 million could be invested in the Lamezia airport, while other interventions are also planned for Reggio Calabria and Crotone. With ten new Ryanair routes, thirty in total, and further flights being activated with other companies, the estimate is to reach up to one million more passengers by the end of October. Another strategic area on which Occhiuto has focused his attention is healthcare, claiming his role as commissioner ad acta and “putting his face on it, even at the risk of being unpopular”.
Among the numbers illustrated, 3,500 hirings of doctors and nurses, the arrival of 274 Cuban doctors and 60 ambulances, the assessment of the debt and closure of the companies' balance sheets, the new hospital network also approved by the Ministries of Economy and Health . For the new hospitals, those in Sibaritide and Vibo Valentia are expected to be completed by the end of the mandate and those in Palmi and Cosenza to be completed on site. Other commitments highlighted include the fight against arsonists and the monitoring of the sea with the help of drones. Regarding the Rai New Year in Calabria, Occhiuto announced that the agreement will be extended for another year, as well as for 2025 also for 2026. And what about a possible second mandate? “To work in a region with the problems that Calabria has, you need to have very strong stimuli – remarked the president of the Region -. If at the end of the mandate I feel I am sufficiently energetic, I will run again, on the contrary I will ask someone else from the centre-right to continue, hoping that they will adopt the same approach as me”.
Autonomy, “Parliament should be given time to evaluate”
«My position is well known in Calabria, I believe it is also known in the national centre-right, even national press outlets have expressed it. I hope that Parliament is given adequate time to evaluate this reform.” This was said by the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, national deputy secretary of Forza Italia, at the Lamezia Terme airport for the press conference on the mid-legislature budget, with reference to differentiated autonomy.
«I hope so also because – continued Occhiuto – I have a mandate from the Regional Council of Calabria which, with the vote of all the regional councilors, including those of Fratelli d'Italia and the League, asked to deepen the text of the reform without prejudice , because we do not have an opposition in principle towards the reform, but to look into it in depth to verify that a) there are the resources to guarantee the essential levels of services, therefore the rights of the citizens of the regions of Southern Italy, b) there is an evaluation of impact to understand what the effects will be even if agreements are reached on non-Lep matters”.
Europeans, FI will reconfirm itself in Calabria
«I expect Calabria to confirm the results we have always had as Forza Italia and I am sure they will reconfirm them». This was stated by the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, national deputy secretary of Forza Italia, in the press conference at Lamezia Terme airport for the mid-legislature budget, responding to a question on Forza Italia's expectations in view of the next European elections. «I am convinced – explained Occhiuto – that the centre-right in all its aspects will do well, and that Forza Italia will convince many of those who don't go to vote to vote for Forza Italia without stealing a vote from the Brothers of Italy and the League. I am convinced that in Calabria Forza Italia will have one of the best results in Italy.”
Rai New Year also in 2025 and 2026
«The Rai Board of Directors has decided to comply with our request to extend the agreement for another year, so we will not only celebrate the next New Year's Eve in Calabria as planned but we will also do the following one. This was reported by the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, national deputy secretary of Forza Italia, in the press conference at Lamezia Terme airport for the mid-legislature budget. «The agreement on the spaces in the programming to communicate the extraordinary nature of Calabria will exist until 2026», specified Occhiuto.