With 18 votes in favor, 31 against and two absent, the motion of no confidence against the president of the Regional Council, Michele Emiliano, was rejected. It had been presented by the centre-right councilors who had illustrated the reasons for the decision by explaining that in the last years of the legislature there had been a “proliferation of agencies, boards of directors, general managers, commissioners and intuitu personae positions, including the president’s advisors and the deputy head of cabinet which have brought to light a series of critical issues in the functioning and management of public resources, as well as burdening all the people of Puglia”.
According to the councilors, in particular, it was noted that in every sector, from healthcare to waste management, there was a lack of political vision and choices made which worsened the services provided to the citizens of Puglia. With reference to the healthcare system built by the current administration, there have been several closures and downsizing of hospitals, delays in building new ones (San Cataldo in Taranto and the Monopoli-Fasano, repeatedly the subject of announced inaugurations considered farce), but also the failure to launch three other new hospitals such as those in Andria, Nord-Barese and Maglie-Melpignano. To this was added the reference to the drama of the very long waiting lists and the disaster in the accreditation system of private healthcare facilities.
Among the critical issues highlighted in the motion there is also that concerning waste management due to “the absence of public plants, programmed in the Plan and left unimplemented, resulting in a constant and continuous increase in the Tari paid by the citizens of Puglia over the years”. Finally, in the reasons there was also reference to “the lack of serenity to be able to continue the XI legislature with the current leadership, considering it too busy resolving political crises and assigning roles and seats to individual councilors to guarantee their support, showing little attention has been paid to addressing and overcoming the problems of strict regional competence that afflict the citizens of Puglia”.
The PD group leader replied to these reasons, who during his speech highlighted that the motion is “a serious and instrumental attack on the governor of Puglia and not a politically founded motion of no confidence”. There were several interventions during the discussion. The Action Group illustrated the motivations underlying the choices that led them to orient themselves with their vote, highlighting that their desire is to make this remnant of the legislature profitable. They reiterated that if anyone thinks of saying today that it will be profitable, but has the mental reservation that it will not be profitable, they must know that they will once again be in the field to report, with all the tools that the law allows to achieve the objectives of the people and human beings. They reiterated that in their proposal for good governance there is a lot of life that throbs and grieves.
The 5 Star Movement instead asked for guarantees that the administrative action of the Puglia Region is in the name of full legality and transparency. They will not lend themselves to a clearly instrumental initiative of the centre-right, from which they naturally do not accept any kind of lesson, much less morality. From today they will present a constructive opposition by voting for the measures they deem useful for citizens and carrying on their battles. The one expressed by the M5S councilor who is always in opposition to the current majority has a different opinion on the vote on the motion of no confidence, declaring herself in favour.
The end of the debate was marked with the intervention of the president of the regional council, who reiterated that he did not deserve the no-confidence vote, highlighting all the political and administrative actions implemented, which led the Puglia Region to achieve important results. To meet the requests made by the Action Group, the governor also announced that there will be changes which will also result in the extraordinary rotation of all the managers of the Puglia Region who have served for three years. This will happen if from a contractual point of view the characteristics of legitimacy emerge and with the expected tolerances. The dismissal of the general directors of the local health authorities is provided for by law and will be applied without ifs or buts, but situations in which the breach occurred due to fault or without fault must be distinguished, to avoid disputes. As for the Department directors, the need for rotation is shared, but at the same time it is a little complicated due to the specific skills already acquired in the field, requiring an effort from everyone which must derive from the desire to build a coalition for the future.
