On June 12, the Tanap pipeline carrying gas from Azerbaijan will be inaugurated in Turkey. It is the stretch that reaches the strategic Turkish-Greek border, to continue towards the Apulian coast with the Tap, the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline. The Turkish government's announcement of the completion of the works comes when the Lega-M5S government seems to be taking shape in Italy. Incidentally, votes are also held in Turkey, but there have been no disputes over the gas pipeline there, despite the unsettled situation in Turkey. The Tap, however, is on the agenda of both Salvini and Di Maio. Both, in a broader context, beyond what they have written at the Pirellone, will have to address the issue of infrastructure, on which the League is pushing and the Five Stars are holding back.
The gas pipeline can become the classic litmus test especially with respect to Grillini's proclamations on renewables. Many have tried to explain to them that the transition to renewable sources needs time and serious commitments. That transport infrastructures, large backbones, are necessary for Italy in the medium term, at least to balance energy imports from abroad. It is not clear how Di Maio managed to win consensus in certain industrial environments, when they are the ones who pay the highest price due to imports.
However, the mayor of Melendugno Marco Potì thought about worrying Di Maio last Sunday, reminding him of previous commitments. On his electoral tour of the TAP landing areas, Di Maio declared the movement's opposition to the pipeline. He went further, arguing that in case of electoral success he would work to free Italy from the constraints of the agreement. As a man of government, will he respect those commitments?
Will it be consistent with Puglia's NO Taps, that the Italian 4 billion euros are poorly spent? In Melendugno they didn't wait for the birth of the government to collect the promises. And will Salvini's League be part of these choices or will it be called out? Dear Di Maio, don't forget about us, said the mayor and put it on the agenda of the next government: end of fossil fuels, no gas pipelines, renewables. In one way or another it will not be easy for the young pentastellato boss to move.
But their difficulties have also had a recent passage in Brussels where both the EIB and the European Commission have recognized the importance and relevance of the gas pipeline from Azerbaijan. Renzi, Gentiloni and Calenda included it in the Italian energy strategy and despite the opposition of Governor Emiliano the procedures went ahead.
Di Maio holding the No Tap photo, today is the reflected mirror of an anti-infrastructure campaign, conducted for years in the territories concerned, obscuring long-examined, seen and revised situations such as permits, environmental authorizations, design variants. On balance, something that in Puglia was worth more than the basic income, also considering that the Apulian representatives of the M5S made raids and garrisons on the Tap construction sites. We don't know what will happen, nor who will give up what, whether Di Maio or the Apulian grillini. Certainly the Tap test won't be the only one but it will be a litmus test.
