Leoluca Orlando – leader of the Islands for the Alleanza Verdi Sinistra in the 2024 European Elections – opened his electoral campaign at the Cinema Rouge et Noir in Palermo (piazza Verdi 8).
Leoluca Orlando statement
“More Palermo in Europe, more Sicily and Sardinia in Europe, more Mediterranean in Europe. Avs is not an alliance of purpose but of project. There is a real danger of an alliance between the efficient bureaucratic structure of Brussels and the sovereignist right. My commitment is to bring the voice of the South into the European Union, capturing the history of the Mediterranean as an appeal to human dignity. The European Union is a union of minorities, it depends on us whether it is the source of all evils or a source of salvation. What can be done with funds (14 billion) allocated to the Bridge: railways, roads, schools, better quality of life, clearing and testing of lakes, combating hydrogeological instability. Make the Palermo experience a model to bring to the European Parliament while respecting the legality of rights. Free from fear means peace. War is the dictatorship of fear. There is only one way to conquer fear, and that is to take care of what you fear. Differentiated autonomy is a colonial choice aimed at splitting the country. Essential performance levels must be uniform. With respect to agriculture: there is a connection between migrant boats and farmers’ tractors because they confirm the connection between social and environmental issues. Migrants flee wars, hunger and desertification caused by climate change. There is no response from Europe on climate change. We need an Erasmus for farmers, workers, artisans, not just for those who can afford it or have studied. We need to move away from the logic of the assisted farmer. My goal is to bring the centrality of the Mediterranean back to the European Parliament. The Mediterranean represents 1% of the world’s seas, 20% of world trade and telecommunications passes through it, in 10 years it has been crossed by 1 million migrants with 28 thousand confirmed deaths. It is a genocide, like that of Gaza, with 36,000 civilians killed, 3,000 of them children. Gaza open-air prison, you can’t even escape. The West turns the other way. There are those who say that to have peace you need to prepare for war. We believe that to have peace we must prepare peace. We are for Ius Soli, which is a fundamental right for security, compatible with respect for other rights.”
