Gavino Manca (Pd) attacks: "The Sardinians deserve those who know the island, not Pera"

Only sixteen Sardinians between the House and the Senate thanks to the cut of the parliamentarians, fifteen if the former president of the Senate Marcello Pera (Brothers of Italy) were to establish himself in the single-member constituency of Northern Sardinia. "The Sardinians don't deserve this," says his closest competitor Gavino Manca (Pd), 52-year-old outgoing deputy this time running for Palazzo Madama. «As he himself admitted, Pera does not know the reality of the island. His interest is represented by constitutional reforms and I do not think he is the right person to be the spokesperson for the needs and expectations of the Sardinians ». Moreover, he recalls, "even if, as a candidate on the plurinominal in Campania he is certain of being elected, the law requires him to opt for the Sardinian seat if he is the most voted on our majority college".

There is a week left to vote. His was a capillary campaign in a very vast territory. What feedback did you get?

«I have traveled the length and breadth of the college, from Lanusei to Porto Torres, from Terralba to Olbia, from Ollollai to Luras. I met citizens and representatives of the productive categories: I spoke, in person or on the phone, with 150 mayors. It was an extraordinary opportunity to enter the daily life of the Sardinians. It is no coincidence that our island is often referred to as a continent: it is large and has different characteristics. To represent them all it is necessary to listen a lot and go deep into each theme. A complex activity that only a Sardinian can do at best ».

His name was among the eligible candidates for a secure position on the proportional to the House or Senate. Why didn't the party reward you?
“I'm not one who locks himself up in comfort zones: five years ago, as a candidate in the proportional one, I interpreted the electoral campaign without sparing myself, with the same spirit with which today I fight in search of that extra vote that will be decisive. The voters know that I am someone who always works hard, in the electoral campaign as well as in the Chamber. I am used to fatigue ».

What are the themes of your program for the island and in particular for the North Sardinia college?

«The college is extremely varied and has different problems: we have port cities, tourist destinations subject to strong seasonal pressure, a hinterland at risk of depopulation, an economy to be reinvented between countryside, industry and commerce, a naturalistic heritage to be enhanced. What can unify such peculiar territories is the need to give concreteness and substance to the principle of insularity recently inserted in the Constitution. In particular, we need to work on two issues: territorial continuity and the cost of energy. These are two areas on which I have already committed myself in this legislature because it is above all on these that the Sardinians have always felt like second-class Italians. On these issues now there is a risk of collapse ».

Are renewables key to countering high bills? Don't you think Sardinia is the target of speculators?

«We have a duty to address the energy issue with a global vision. We face two extremes: on the one hand, multinationals that drop high-impact projects from above without agreeing anything with the territories; on the other, that syndrome that makes us say "No" to any intervention that concerns us closely. We have to manage a revolution essential for the very survival of the planet but it is not acceptable that the Sardinians passively undergo projects on which they have not had the right to speak. The energy transition can only be implemented by enhancing the leadership of the communities and without speculation ».

Governor Solinas supports the need for air territorial continuity to and from the island to be presented by the next government in Brussels as a national interest. Do you agree?

“The president isn't saying anything new because that's already the case. In 2019 the Giunta Pigliaru, in the proposal that had completed the whole process of assigning the routes and services in continuity, had specifically made reference to the condition of insularity as a distinctive element of Sardinian continuity "

If he returns to Parliament, will he fight for the realization of the methane backbone project?
«The energy transition is the topic of the moment, which concerns not only the present but also our future and that of our children. In recent years, between the effects of climate change, rising raw material prices and the Ukrainian crisis, the game has become extremely complex and requires a global approach. I supported the methane backbone project and I believe it should be re-read and updated without prejudice in the light of these new scenarios ».

The Sardinian Democratic Party has not yet managed to celebrate the congress. Because?
“This electoral campaign marked the return of politics to the field, after the physical and psychological distances between the pandemic. I believe that the Democratic Party has also suffered from the difficulties of meeting and sitting down to think as it used to be. These elections have unblocked the situation, but I trust that they will reopen the internal confrontation by restarting the life of the party with enthusiasm and content ».

Your opinion on the current government of the Region?

«This council has been in constant delay and emergency, but the Sardinians will give the judgment in a few days. The coalition is increasingly crossed by tensions and divisions. The year and a half that is missing from the end of the mandate will be a long agony ».