He didn't say during the election campaign that he would divert Sicilian
money to pursue his own personal interests, create new clients, and
thank his friends: therefore, he has never lied, and no one (in his
party or coalition) can accuse him of inconsistency. As for honesty,
this was guaranteed to him immediately after his election by Ignazio La
Russa, the president-elect of the Italian Republic (in case Mattarella
dies). There is therefore no reason for him to resign. Ultimately, are
we not all in the same boat (i.e., supporters of due process)?
This was the gist of the speech that Gaetano Galvagno, the youngest
president of the Sicilian Assembly, under investigation in recent months
by the judiciary for corruption and embezzlement, gave in the Sala
d'Ercole on July 1st, silencing any journalistic speculation and
securing the summer vacations of his honorable colleagues.
All of them, from all parties, actually pretended not to know about the
shady dealings, about the President's unscrupulous connections (Mimmo
Galvagno, a relative of his, had been Paternò's "strongman" before the
bankruptcy of "Simeto Ambiente," the consortium he headed, miraculously
surviving unscathed but indebting the Etna municipalities for twenty
years), about his carefree spending-with false accounting-of hundreds of
thousands of euros already allocated to the ARS Presidency, about his
quick-change attitude that in just a few years had led him from the
court of Raffaele Lombardo to that of the La Russas, and about the race
that had just begun-with both of these exceptional sponsors-for the next
governorship of Sicily.
His main mistake was not to settle for the "crumbs" that came with his
role-the more than 50 official collaboration positions and many other
consultancy assignments entrusted to friends and relatives, the "dowry"
granted to him by the latest Budget Law, approved on January 9th-in
order to instead draw on other, more substantial resources held by
compliant departments (approximately EUR2,800,000 of which he had
personal availability has been counted so far), largely aimed at
advocating his own ambitious moves, perhaps too early.
It is in the festering environment of the regional government that the
showdown that is overwhelming him almost certainly unfolded. One slight,
a shrug, a stubborn refusal, and the opposing political-criminal
factions, which have always fueled ambitions for power in Sicily, have
launched their arrow, striking him at his weakest point.
In the latest Budget Law, approved on January 9th, all 70 MPs (except
one), from all parties, earmarked a portion of the regional budget
(EUR100 million out of EUR9 million) to finance, with complete
discretion and impunity, without calls for tenders, criteria, or
pre-established rules, 1,202 interventions for organizations,
associations, and private individuals who organize or sponsor cultural
and tourism promotion events, based in individual constituencies.
Essentially, this is to nurture each MP's clientele and "groom" their
current and potential electorate. Not "vote trading," mind you, but
"vote trading with a promise of a vote" (which is sort of the same
thing, but doesn't land you in jail)! The difference with the charges
against the President of the Assembly, as can be seen, is only quantitative.
For us anarchists, what is happening is nothing new. We have always
maintained that high-ranking politicians, simply by participating in the
electoral game-even before assuming office and managing million-dollar
funds-are corrupt. Theirs is a constant exchange of votes (and behind
those votes, favors, benefits, and perks) to gain power, and vice versa.
The excluded associations and municipalities, starting with Canicattini
Bagni, whose mayor, Paolo Amenta, is also president of the Association
of Sicilian Municipalities (ANCI Sicilia), were surprised. Silenced by
the regime's media, Amenta futilely denounced, with heartfelt words, how
the funds allocated in this "fragmented" way fail to address the real
needs of local authorities, to address their organizational and
financial weaknesses, or to resolve structural and infrastructural problems.
Meanwhile, culture-the true kind, not the stuff of vaudeville or village
festivals-is at a standstill. And what about tourism, the kind of
tourism that explores, not the overpowering of places and people? And
the much-vaunted civil, economic, and social growth of the regions?
Doomed to suffer from increasingly scarce and insufficient funding. But
above all, it is the self-development of our land that is continually
threatened and marginalized by the massive proliferation of mediocre,
well-funded, and sometimes lucrative initiatives, serving as a
mouthpiece for new generations of greedy politicians.
What to do? In the meantime, let's start caring about them again,
debunking them, and thinking about how to expropriate these cheap
grabbers and exploiters of popular support and the main resources of our
land.
Natale Musarra
https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
money to pursue his own personal interests, create new clients, and
thank his friends: therefore, he has never lied, and no one (in his
party or coalition) can accuse him of inconsistency. As for honesty,
this was guaranteed to him immediately after his election by Ignazio La
Russa, the president-elect of the Italian Republic (in case Mattarella
dies). There is therefore no reason for him to resign. Ultimately, are
we not all in the same boat (i.e., supporters of due process)?
This was the gist of the speech that Gaetano Galvagno, the youngest
president of the Sicilian Assembly, under investigation in recent months
by the judiciary for corruption and embezzlement, gave in the Sala
d'Ercole on July 1st, silencing any journalistic speculation and
securing the summer vacations of his honorable colleagues.
All of them, from all parties, actually pretended not to know about the
shady dealings, about the President's unscrupulous connections (Mimmo
Galvagno, a relative of his, had been Paternò's "strongman" before the
bankruptcy of "Simeto Ambiente," the consortium he headed, miraculously
surviving unscathed but indebting the Etna municipalities for twenty
years), about his carefree spending-with false accounting-of hundreds of
thousands of euros already allocated to the ARS Presidency, about his
quick-change attitude that in just a few years had led him from the
court of Raffaele Lombardo to that of the La Russas, and about the race
that had just begun-with both of these exceptional sponsors-for the next
governorship of Sicily.
His main mistake was not to settle for the "crumbs" that came with his
role-the more than 50 official collaboration positions and many other
consultancy assignments entrusted to friends and relatives, the "dowry"
granted to him by the latest Budget Law, approved on January 9th-in
order to instead draw on other, more substantial resources held by
compliant departments (approximately EUR2,800,000 of which he had
personal availability has been counted so far), largely aimed at
advocating his own ambitious moves, perhaps too early.
It is in the festering environment of the regional government that the
showdown that is overwhelming him almost certainly unfolded. One slight,
a shrug, a stubborn refusal, and the opposing political-criminal
factions, which have always fueled ambitions for power in Sicily, have
launched their arrow, striking him at his weakest point.
In the latest Budget Law, approved on January 9th, all 70 MPs (except
one), from all parties, earmarked a portion of the regional budget
(EUR100 million out of EUR9 million) to finance, with complete
discretion and impunity, without calls for tenders, criteria, or
pre-established rules, 1,202 interventions for organizations,
associations, and private individuals who organize or sponsor cultural
and tourism promotion events, based in individual constituencies.
Essentially, this is to nurture each MP's clientele and "groom" their
current and potential electorate. Not "vote trading," mind you, but
"vote trading with a promise of a vote" (which is sort of the same
thing, but doesn't land you in jail)! The difference with the charges
against the President of the Assembly, as can be seen, is only quantitative.
For us anarchists, what is happening is nothing new. We have always
maintained that high-ranking politicians, simply by participating in the
electoral game-even before assuming office and managing million-dollar
funds-are corrupt. Theirs is a constant exchange of votes (and behind
those votes, favors, benefits, and perks) to gain power, and vice versa.
The excluded associations and municipalities, starting with Canicattini
Bagni, whose mayor, Paolo Amenta, is also president of the Association
of Sicilian Municipalities (ANCI Sicilia), were surprised. Silenced by
the regime's media, Amenta futilely denounced, with heartfelt words, how
the funds allocated in this "fragmented" way fail to address the real
needs of local authorities, to address their organizational and
financial weaknesses, or to resolve structural and infrastructural problems.
Meanwhile, culture-the true kind, not the stuff of vaudeville or village
festivals-is at a standstill. And what about tourism, the kind of
tourism that explores, not the overpowering of places and people? And
the much-vaunted civil, economic, and social growth of the regions?
Doomed to suffer from increasingly scarce and insufficient funding. But
above all, it is the self-development of our land that is continually
threatened and marginalized by the massive proliferation of mediocre,
well-funded, and sometimes lucrative initiatives, serving as a
mouthpiece for new generations of greedy politicians.
What to do? In the meantime, let's start caring about them again,
debunking them, and thinking about how to expropriate these cheap
grabbers and exploiters of popular support and the main resources of our
land.
Natale Musarra
https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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