David Sassoli he was convinced environmentalist. Not ideological. A soft-spoken, but firm advocate of Green New Deal, on which he had intervened several times. The thought of him green of him had no boundaries. Among the many speeches in support of the climate battle, one of the most significant remains the one at Venice Soft Power Conference of August-September 2021. Using the history of Venice as a pretext, Sassoli in his message outlined the future of the old continent. Venice as a community threatened by climate change and lack of environmental care was the European – if not universal – symbol for its commitment to battles to defend the planet.
As President of the European Parliament he had met activists, representatives of movements, world leaders, Greta Thunberg, Papa Francesco, without compromising the deepest convictions of a united, dialectical Europe, but with only one road ahead: a new development model. He was sincerely friends with Ursula von der Leyen, which he has loyally supported in structuring the ambitious Green Plan. She has defended him several times. “More equitable societies have better environmental conditions and show a greater capacity to become more sustainable,” he said. On the contrary, an unequal society, in which large sections of the population live in conditions of poverty, fuels the ecological crisis. Backed by solid journalistic experience, Sassoli he was against the empty ecological declamations which end up damaging the commitment of thousands of people.
In his message to Venice a few months ago, he warned politicians, entrepreneurs and trade unions about the need to think about new jobs to compensate for those that will no longer exist if the ecological transition achieves the objectives for 2030 and 2050. those adamant dates, convinced that the transition would create 700 thousand new jobs throughout Europe. On the other hand, he was well aware that there are countries in the European Parliament that are not rejoicing over the Green Deal, that are defending old energy sources to keep their economies going. But despite the impartiality of the position, Sassoli supported all plans on sustainability, the law on climate, economic aid to the most sensitive countries. He had given concrete help to the Italian PNRR by dialoguing with all the political representations in Strasbourg and Brussels. He was pragmatic and open to dialogue, aware that Europe is designing its own future. He knew about the accidents along the way, but worked to avoid them. In this vision, Italy occupied a special place, because a breakup of the Union could not have included his country. That beautiful Italy that she loved so much.
