“We have won many battles thanks to the vaccine, but the war is not over.” Almost two years of Covid are behind us, but the Omicron variant and yet another increase in infections does not allow us to let our guard down: this is the message of the President of the Senate, Elisabetta Casellati, in the traditional exchange of greetings with the parliamentary press. Which, however, exalts Italy: «If Italy today finds itself in front of so many European countries we owe it to our choices, not to luck. Thanks to the Italians for the responsibility with which they are facing this challenge. Our response to the crisis has been extraordinary. I am confident that we look to the future with hope in this phase of recovery. Now it is only right to deal with the questions that citizens ask the institutions ”. The focus shifts from the coronavirus emergency to the next stages of the political scene, for which Casellati assures: «Parliament has an essential role. And the centrality of the Chambers is not an obstacle to decisions ».
The PNRR as an “Extraordinary opportunity”
The balance of bicameralism allows Italian politics to better respond to the needs of citizens, argues the president of the Senate. In his speech he talks about recovery and mentions the NRP: «The recovery seems to be structural, not just a rebound. The country system is facing many problems common to other European countries, but we have an extraordinary opportunity, the NRP, European resources to spend on infrastructures, but also to carry out reforms ».
“The conception of woman as an object is too rooted”
In his greetings, after having supported journalists citing the case of Lucia Goracci, for the “very serious events” that occurred in his tropue in Romania, he also spoke of another open wound that 2021 leaves behind: violence against women. “It is a problem to be faced on the economic level, I am thinking of the law on equal pay, but there is a problem on the cultural level. Just think of the harassment of a colleague of yours outside a stadium, which testifies to how deeply rooted the conception of the woman as an object is ». It is “aberrant and unacceptable that there is a femicide every three days, especially since women suffer violence especially within the walls of the house, where they should feel safer”.
The importance of correct information
«The media and the institutions are on the same side, the same team playing for the country. This is because in the face of a national and international emergency such as the pandemic, it is right that everyone takes on a strong responsibility, and you too are doing so. I am referring to the need for correct information, which is truly a resource of democracy »added Elisabetta Casellati. «I am referring to the unmasking of fake news, to the essential work of verification which is the very heart of journalistic activity. I want to say thank you. Thanks to the journalists and information operators who once again this year performed an essential, precious service during the pandemic ».
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