They didn’t hold back. They raised their voices, threatened to stop construction sites, prefigured appeals. The president of Calabria Roberto Occhiuto he even considered leaving the post of commissioner for the recovery plan for the Calabrian healthcare system. “If that’s the case, I’ll give you the keys back.” It had never happened that the centre-right regions were so open to the attack on the Meloni government, so far there had only been a bit of grumbling. The anger concerns the most important sector for local administrations, healthcare which absorbs around 80% of their budgets.
“At Palazzo Chigi powers incompatible with the Constitution”. The Court of Auditors sinks Giuseppe Colombo’s right-wing Pnrr 20 March 2024
On the other side of the table, in a lively meeting that took place on Monday, were thethe Minister for European Affairs and the Pnrr Raffaele Fitto and the Minister for Health Orazio Schillaci, actually very quiet during the meeting. The game was that of the PNC, the complementary plan parallel to the Pnrr, which has been agitating the presidents and councilors for days. The government has in fact decided to cut 1 billion and 266 million euros from the “Towards a safe and sustainable hospital” program, which finances the upgrading of structures, for example, for anti-seismic and fire prevention purposes.
Fitto explained that the money can be taken from the so-called “ex article 20”, a fund created in 1988 to pay for major healthcare projects, such as the construction of hospitals. “These are communicating vessels,” added the minister, referring to the change in the “container” of the money. The move sparked the anger of all the Regions, without exception. There were two complaints. The first concerns the fact that many have already planned the expenses financed by the PNC, have even opened construction sites and received the invoices to pay. Taking the money from the former article 20 would cause major slowdowns, because long procedures would have to be initiated to obtain the money, and therefore litigation would have to be faced. The second concerns the fact that the fund for major works, where there would not already be enough money, would be reduced because it would be used for something else. “So it is still a cut,” the Regions reiterated.
When the meeting the day before yesterday was over, they arrived as well the criticisms of the Court of Auditors, which practically coincide with those of presidents and councilors. «It cannot be overlooked – it is written in the memorandum on the decree introducing the innovation – how, in addition to reducing the overall amount of resources earmarked for investments in healthcare (having attributed the financing of the program to the Fund pursuant to article 20 affects the availability for further program agreements) and to impact regional investment programs already underway, the move involves postponing the implementation of the project until adequate financial space is available”.
At Monday’s meeting there were three presidents: Francesco Rocca from Lazio, Michele Emiliano from Puglia (the only one from the centre-left) and Roberto Occhiuto from Calabria. Rocca, after having endorsed the observations ofTuscan Health Councilor Simone Bezzini (and this in itself is significant), he explained that he needs the money from the former article 20 to redo the Tivoli hospital, hit by a serious fire, and cannot use it for anything else. Emiliano explained that he already had construction sites open and asked if he should stop everything (“no, run”, Fitto replied, leaving the president a little taken aback). Occhiuto said that resources cannot be taken away to make hospitals safe in a Region that has been in a recovery plan for 15 years. He then added that if the government acts like this it might be worth resigning his mandate as health commissioner.
Protests also came from the large northern areas, with Veneto and Lombardy leading the way. The Lombard Health Councilor Guido Bertolasowhich is expecting funding for over 200 million, said that the money cannot be taken away: «We do not agree, also because the expenses linked to the former article 20 have already been programmed, we have announced the construction of new hospitals – the meaning of his intervention – And then there is an agreement in State-Regions conference which establishes that the money will be removed only in the event of non-compliance and with prior agreement. The two conditions do not exist here.” The coordinator of the health councilors, the Emilian Raffaele Donini, who is to receive a hundred million, warned the two ministers: “You are making a mistake.” Furthermore, everyone rebuked Fitto when he gave the example of communicating vessels: “Precisely if the funds are communicating and one of these is reduced, a cut is being made.”
In short, black smoke came from the Regions. To try to get out of the situation, the ministers have announced that they will meet the local administrations one by one. Closing a game like this without an agreement with the presidents is difficult, firstly because there is a risk of appeals but above all because it would take the political clash on healthcare with the centre-right local administrators to the extreme.