«If the complaint presented has the same seriousness and scientific validity as the work of Dr. Guariniello, not only would it be right for this trial to take place, but my conviction would also be right. We are all guilty if we talk about pollution.”
At the smog trial, the former Environment Councilor of the Fassino council, Enzo Lavolta, prefers frankness to official defense. The next hearing – which involves the former mayors Fassino and Appendinothe former governor Chiamparino and the former competent councilors Lavolta and Unia, all accused of environmental pollution – will be held on July 4th. The prosecution’s theory is that not enough has been done to limit the release of particulates that are harmful to human health. In the first session of the trial, the civil parties were accepted Torino Breathe Committee, Isde (doctors association for the environment) and Greenpeace. However, the requests of Fridays for Future, collected in the Climate Justice Now container, were left out, as were those of seven citizens.
It is a historic process for Italywhich consequently finds unprecedented reactions from the protagonists.
Lavolta himself repeats several times that he is «not» happy with the air we breathe in Turin as in the entire Po Valley. I have never been satisfied with the improvements in concentration of particulate matter in the air during my tenure. I hope for the seriousness and scientific validity of the complaint. Otherwise we will have wasted time, money and above all we will have granted a further gift to the right-wing deniers.”
On the other side of the barricade, the former 5 Star Movement councilor Alberto Unia vigorously defends the actions of the Appendino arrived on the topic: «This trial will be an opportunity to talk about the extraordinary commitment of our administration to air quality and the environment. The results were truly many regarding green, sustainable mobilityland consumption and energy efficiency of buildings». Unia, recently elected to the Regional Council, sees the process as an opportunity to «make citizens understand that the issue of air quality has not only not been neglected but has been at the center of our policies as the results demonstrate».
The bishops move, while the most important pieces on the board play another game. The Dems Piero Fassino and Sergio Chiamparino have for now adopted the path of silence. While the former mayor Chiara Appendino, already involved in the Piazza San Carlo trial, has decided to go on the attack by raising the issue of the responsibility of mayors. He did it with a letter on social media: «Anci has denounced the imbalance on several occasions between the levers that mayors actually possess and the responsibilities that the judiciary attributes to them, leading to the creation of a role crime that calls them personally into question also for issues of public order and safety. In this way it will be even more difficult to find good people willing to make themselves available to their community, but above all it will lead to administrative paralysis.”
The vice-president of the 5 Star Movement also proposes a solution: «I believe that the first reform that should be made to protect mayors is not the elimination of abuse of office, but rather a serious revision of the Consolidated Law on Local Authorities which defines clear the criminal responsibilities of the first citizens and eliminate dangerous gray areas». And in the meantime we are waiting to understand if the smog trial will continue and what consequences it will have on the concept of responsibility for local administrators.
