A doctor, university professor and also rector. Nothing could be more distant, therefore, from the No Vax world or from environments that in any case question the importance of vaccines and in general to keep a cautious attitude in the face of the pandemic. An attitude certainly appreciated by Colle too. And so a technician was chosen, with an important institutional role too. Orazio Schillaci leads the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, he is a nuclear doctor, he has done clinical and also research.
He is defined by his collaborators as sober and reserved. And he probably checked it out on other names considered eligible candidates in recent weeks, such as Guido Rasi, who was first in Aifa and then in Ema and finally made the consultant of General Figliuolo, and Francesco Rocca, at the helm of the Red Cross, because in recent years he has spoken little about coronavirus. There is a statement by him on Tg3 in May 2020 in which he invites citizens “to respect the rules in order not to have new outbreaks”.
In the meantime, Schillaci will have to decide on the fight against the coronavirus, which circulates a little less in this period but which still keeps the health system on alert. It is difficult to think that a figure like him does not carry on the campaign for the fourth and fifth dose with the bivalent started by his predecessor, Roberto Speranza. However, he is expected to pass by the experts, largely promoters of vaccination, and by the whole health system. Another thing that many are waiting to understand is whether he will work to strengthen the public system or not. The right in the government makes many fear a definitive financing that consequently shifts the activities to the private sector. Also in this case, the minister’s story seems reassuring and in fact yesterday a collective sigh of relief was raised from the world of health.
Schillaci is a pure technician. He is 56 years old and at Tor Vergata he was also dean of Medicine. As a clinician he is highly respected, not only for his professional skills but also for the relationship he has with patients.
Regarding his potential as a minister, some in the world consider him a little too weak. Others, on the other hand, esteem him: “he is not a free hitter, he plays as a team and knows how to delegate”. He is not involved in politics and his name had never been associated with the right. Speranza, on the other hand, in 2020 appointed him a member of the scientific committee of the Higher Institute of Health.
However, the government’s choice to focus on a technician has political significance. If the pandemic were to worsen again (something not foreseeable at the moment) and some restrictions were necessary, such as masks in schools, it would be a technical figure to decide them. He is therefore not a party exponent, perhaps one of those who in the past have spoken out against all anti Covid measures and who would therefore be forced to contradict himself. Then there is the issue of public health funds. If the Mef decides to remove part of those already allocated or even just not to give increases, the contrary voice of a technical minister, if it rises, will still be less strong and convincing than that of a politician. And for the national health service they will be big problems.