09 June 2024, 06:50
3 min read
PALERMO – Sicily photographed in the cone of light of the European elections it is a land not overabundant with reasons to be optimistic, an island still far from the longed-for Europe, contrary to the proverbial Milan of a song by Lucio Dalla. Don’t you believe it? Are we exaggerating? Get in the car and you’ll see.
For a figurative synthesis of the various arguments demonstrating the assumption, in fact, the dramatic experience of those who travel, perhaps every day, the infamous A 19, the Palermo-Catania, which has been written about for some time, periodically, could be enough. An (in) fitting symbol.
Palermo-Catania? A trazzera…
We are certainly working with what appears to be greater commitment, rather than an atavistic ‘indifference’. The teams of workers are visible: anyone who has traveled recently has noticed it. Maintenance actions are necessary. The date set by the President of the Region, Renato Schifani, for ‘liberation’ it is December 2026. An objective that is not immediate, but, at least, determined. And it’s already a step forward.
Yet, the unfortunates who still stumble in an endless maze of construction sites they cannot help but think how that nightmare – in the succession of deviations, restrictions, stops, slowdowns and difficulties – is incompatible with normal traffic. That is, how un’European’ that bumpy journey is. The Palermo-Catania match is already a cumbersome metaphor for lasting backwardness.
And the numbers…
But this is just one of many stories which could be told and which identify the exact position of an ancient and objective marginality. Beyond metaphors, in abundance and in all fields, there are numbers ‘stubborn’ in pronouncing unpleasant truths.
One can cite, for example, in a recent Adnkronos agency: “The EU Regional Social Progress Index, presented last 23 May by the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, shows the Northern regions on the one hand, and the former Soviet bloc and the countries facing the Mediterranean, constantly late. A gap that becomes an abyss in Campania and Sicily, respectively in 207th and 214th place out of 236 European regions”.
The research brings together data that reflects the physiognomy of a place, regarding well-being, the satisfaction of basic needs, opportunities and the data is not comforting. This is the photograph of the present which, perhaps, can be reversed (we all hope so) in the profusion of commitments and resources. Meanwhile, from the disconsolateness of Sacchitello’s patrons, to the latest statistics: the right day to start a ‘wave’ of enthusiasm, from Palermo to Pachino, still doesn’t seem to have arrived.
The challenge of the parties
Here we are, finally, at the vote, innervated by opposing rhetoric and experienced on two levels. One – correct and clear – calls into question the importance of the global decisions that will be taken and the local value of the consultations. Europe matters a lot, looking the other way means not loving yourself.
The other floor, more karst, involves tests of strength inside and outside all parties. A certainly legitimate political practice, certainly oriented towards power, which, however, makes little sense for the interests of a land of crumbly hopes.
There are other scenarios to keep in mind and call into question collective responsibility, regardless of the sides on the field. We still cannot call ourselves Europeans if the only hope for an exhausted traveler remains the profile of a petrol station in the midst of a nightmare.
Published on
09 June 2024, 06:50
