The summit at Palazzo Chigi concluded with yet another stalemate on Tav. Present at the meeting were Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the two Deputy Prime Ministers Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, and the Minister for Infrastructure, Danilo Toninelli who, apparently, failed to reach an agreement. The clash between the League and the 5 Star Movement on Turin - Lyon continues.
In fact, the two parties in government are aligned on diametrically opposite positions, with the Carroccio not intending to give up the work and the pentastellati who instead would like to keep the promise to block it made during the electoral campaign.
At the end of the meeting, however, the Prime Minister tried to calm things down: “We are in the finishing straight, in the final path, the political one. Today was the first political meeting, we started the cost-benefit analysis. Tomorrow evening at 8,30, meeting with the technicians to the bitter end. I think a choice by Friday”.
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On the clash between the two parties in government, Conte minimizes: "I respect the positions of the League and the M5s - he says - but I will guarantee that these prejudicial positions do not weigh on the table".
“Since we will take the best choice for the citizens – continued the Premier -, obviously the government does not risk it. I will fight to ensure that no aspect is overlooked for a correct decision". "I can guarantee that we will take a decision to protect the national interest," she concluded.
Words with which Conte tried to dilute the statements made in the morning by Undersecretary Stefano Buffagni, who said that theThe M5S is ready to abandon the government in order to block high speed.
Let's remember that time is running out. If by Monday 11 March Italy does not take a decision on the tenders that Telt has put on standby at Rome's request, we will lose 300 million in European contributions.
In fact, next week the board of directors of Telt (Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin), the public promoter charged by Italy and France with the construction of the cross-border section of the Turin-Lyon railway line, will have to publish the two 2,3 billion euro tenders required to start the excavation works in the base tunnel after the postponement requested by Italy. If our country continues to prevaricate, Inea, the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency of the European Union will reduce the amount of contribution for Torino-Lion from 813 to just over 500 million.
The Prime Minister explained that today it was not possible to take a decision on the Telt tender: “We plan to decide before Monday", Conte said, adding that in these days "no dialogue with France is foreseen" and that at the moment the government cannot discuss an increase in European funds for the Tav. "" We cannot ask now because it would mean being yes to the Tav and possibly ask to discount the price, so we are already talking about a phase following the choice".
On the question the president of the Piedmont Region, Sergio Chiamparino, the Government insists: “That of 11 March is an aut aut choice: I say let the tenders start, otherwise it will be significant that not the 5 stars, whose position has been known for some time, but the League is not reliable for the construction of infrastructure and major works that serve the north of the country".
The political controversy, meanwhile, does not subside. Yesterday evening, March 4, the new secretary of the Democratic Party, Nicola Zingaretti he said: “The tenders do not stop and it would be criminal to speculate about losing hundreds of millions of investments and thousands of jobs".
