SUNRISE In Alba, Saturday 10 May the president of the Five Star Movement passed through Giuseppe Conte. Already prime minister from 2018 to 2019 and then until 2021, the evening before he had participated in the opening of the electoral campaign of the Five Star Movement in Piedmont: in our Region, Sarah Disabato will be running for president. After a morning trip to the Rivoli market, he arrived in the city as a guest of the regional councilor Ivano Martinetti. A strictly private visit, which included a lunch at the L’inedito Vigin Mudest restaurant and a visit to Tino Colla’s Cascina Drago. Together with Conte, Martinetti and Disabato there were the candidate for the European elections Sean Sacco and the parliamentarians Chiara Appendino and Elisa Pirro.
President Conte, you were prime minister during the pandemic. Did the choices made in that difficult phase, sometimes opposed, with the end of the emergency allow Italy to emerge from the crisis and start again? In what area do you think the Government’s action has had the greatest impact?
«We have built a complex strategy, with the aim of protecting everyone and leaving no one behind, thanks also to the efforts and sacrifices of many Italians. Meanwhile, others were busy making political propaganda. After a long tug of war with Brussels, my Government returned to Italy with 209 billion. Those funds were and are the tangible sign of a new Europe, capable of ending the season of austerity and responding through more mature solidarity to the tragedy of the pandemic. As for the Superbonus, in the three years of greatest application, the measure contributed to increasing GDP by over 13 percent, decreasing the debt-to-GDP ratio by over 17 points and increasing tax revenues by 140 billion thanks to the growth. Then came the regulatory and accounting errors of the Meloni – Giorgetti pairing. The decrees adopted in 2023 were a disaster, they increased panic and a consequent rush for relief.”
What does Piedmont need today?
«Of a political class that knows how to defend public health first and foremost, in a region where the center-right and center-left have sold it off piece by piece to the private sector. To relaunch it, the 5 Star Movement intends to implement a plan based on very clear points: building new hospitals with public funds, re-internalising services into private hands and reducing waiting lists. Our regional program also puts labor policies, the relaunch of local public transport and the defense of civil rights first. Sarah Disabato is a tenacious woman, capable of bringing together positive forces and has great practical sense. I hope that the Piedmontese will allow her to demonstrate her worth.”
What idea do you have of the socio-economic context and the needs of the Alba area?
«It is a high-level economic, social and cultural fabric, with peaks of excellence that have deeply impressed me. During the visit, thanks to our Ivano Martinetti, I had the opportunity to get to know really interesting realities, with a past made of sacrifices and work and a very successful present. I will carry with me the memory of this splendid visit which allowed me to deepen my knowledge of a unique territory. I believe that the priority of this area is the rapid completion of the Cuneo – Asti road, an objective made achievable also by the decisive contribution of my Government”.
Davide Barile
