Confidence in the future, commitment, hope, sense of responsibility. These are the key words of President Sergio Mattarella's greeting to the Italians. A greeting that closes the seven-year period without hesitation and a Happy New Year which is also a call to hope for the future and for young people. I leave the Quirinal and the Presidency of the Republic – Mattarella essentially said – and made a clear call to those who are still hesitating and refusing anti-Covid coverage. Woe to waste vaccines and thanks instead to the doctors, the health workers, to all those who have trusted in science and have, in fact, vaccinated themselves while protecting themselves and others.
THANKS TO THOSE WHO HAD TRUST IN SCIENCE
We must not be discouraged - said the President - in the face of the dizzying recovery of infections ", in the fourth wave dominated by the Omicron variant. Conditions today are not the same as a year ago, he recalled. “Let's remember how we were in the most dramatic hour of the lockdown and how much we wished we had vaccines then. Sure they don't guarantee invulnerability but they are a shield. I remember the confinement, the parade of coffins, the shops and offices closed, the schools closed, the suffering and self-denial of doctors and health care workers". Today however “research and science have given us this opportunity. Not considering it is an offense to those who have not yet had them”. Hence the thanksgiving to all of the Italians who have responsibly decided to get vaccinated.
"Involvement and emotion" are the feelings with which Mattarella greets, leaves and thanks the Italians after 7 years who have also had dramatic and difficult moments, greeting his fellow citizens from his private studio overlooking the Quirinale gardens. This is the constitutional mandate, recalled the President who will leave the Quirinale on 3 February, and who – he recalled – has worked in recent years "committing myself to respecting the Charter, the foundation of national unity".
In retracing the seven-year period, Mattarella recalled that “the pandemic has inflicted deep, moral and economic wounds. Hardships and sufferings. On a global scale it has caused poverty and job loss.” “And yet we got up, started to restart with supportive policies and thanks to the framework of confidence aroused by the new European instruments. Europe was able to give a supportive response”. Mattarella also gave a sign of confidence: "The journey will still be long but the country's economic conditions have seen a recovery that was difficult to hope for".
A UNITED AND SOLIDARITY REPUBLIC, THAT'S PATRIOTISM
In the 7 years of his mandate, Mattarella has retraced global adversities: Islamic terrorism, earthquakes, floods, military and civilian casualties, those killed at work, women victims of violence. Faced with all this, "I tried to convey a sense of trust to the mayors, to those who work in the area". And he praised "the face of a united and supportive republic" that the Italians have been able to express. "That's patriotism."
For his part, the President has the task of representing national unity: "I have tried to do it with commitment, in strict compliance with the constitutional provisions". And again: the bond, cohesion and national unity are a bond "which must be strengthened by the responsible work of those who play an institutional role". A call to the parties, obviously.
The thanks of the President go to the Italians because if it is true that "the fractures exist and should not be hidden", it is also true that "in difficult moments the attitude of the people to remain united emerges, the authentic face of Italy, hardworking and supportive ”. Tensions exist but in the end, Mattarella acknowledges, the Italians know how to make cohesion prevail in the most difficult moments.
GOVERNANCE AVOIDS LEAPING INTO THE DARK
From this point of view, the President underlined the value of governance which "allowed the country to avoid dangerous leaps in the dark"
Finally, Mattarella concluded his speech - shorter and more sober than those that preceded it: 15 minutes - with an emotional appeal to young people. “Too much widespread precariousness discourages young people, the demographic decline is one of the most worrying aspects. Take the future, don't be indifferent, don't be afraid so as not to risk”, said the President. Italy has the resources to face the challenges and quoted the words of Professor Pietro Carmina, a philosophy and history teacher, one of the protagonists of the collapse of Ravanusa. There was no lack of thanks to Pope Francis for his work of peace and to Europe for the role it can play in the defense of human rights.
Finally, the farewell, full of faith in the future: "The New Year is a moment of hope, we look forward to the future, it depends on each of us, knowing that we can only get out of difficulties if everyone does their part".
