Luciana Littizzetto, in her usual irreverent Sunday intervention, this time on Che Tempo Che Fa on Nove takes aim at Dr. Corrado Palmas, a Sardinian dentist who works in Romania and Moldavia. And who doesn't fail to reply point by point.
"I don't know if it happens to you too to receive calls on your cell phone from annoying advertisements - Lucianina began - Well the other day I answered and I hear: "Hi, are you interested in dental tourism in Tirana"? Honestly, no". There is a significant error right from the start, Palmas replies, "I don't work in Albania , even if I think that Albanian doctors deserve great respect, we have also seen their great work during Covid".
And then, Palmas continues, «maybe you haven't thought about getting your teeth treated abroad but there are many Italians who can't find a solution to their problems in Italy and are considering doing it elsewhere».
Littizzetto then focuses on costs: «I heard that the dentist in Tirana costs 60% less. But how does he make teeth? Of play dough, of das?». A «slip-up», Palmas calls it: «He is saying that if you pay little abroad it means that the quality is very low . And instead simply abroad the taxes are lower. A joke that goes against correct communication, you are denigrating the medical profession».
But the monologue goes on and Littizzetto shows live the Palmas advertising poster, very common in airports. "Doctor Palmas, a Sardinian dentist in Moldova and Romania, it's written, but what does it mean? It's fine that his name is Palmas, a typical Sardinian surname. But if I want a Sardinian dentist I go to Cagliari, I go to Sassari, I go to Alghero. Why do I have to go to Moldova? Maybe because if I take a train or a plane, with Salvini's transport, it might be quicker for me to go to Moldova or Romania..."
"I thank you for the visibility, with those 40 seconds in which my face appeared on a national channel, and I understand that the sketch was used to tease Minister Salvini - says Palmas - but, to do so, you can't smear an entire category. Leaving your country of origin, and my Sardinia, to seek fortune abroad is a courageous choice that involves unique challenges and opportunities. Challenges that I have taken up and that today have led me, between Italy, Romania and Moldova, to open cutting-edge centers that employ almost 600 people. It doesn't seem like a small thing to me, dear Luciana, and, if I managed to build all this, I certainly don't work with clay, as you insinuated, but with great honesty and professionalism".
"The thousands of people who choose to seek treatment abroad - he continues - do not do it for fun but because they do not have the economic means to receive treatment in Italy. Going outside the national borders is their only chance to return to living with dignity. Should we blame them for this? I would say no. Also because going to a professional is not only useful for treating cavities and gums but, sometimes, also for diagnosing a tumor of the oral cavity. Without forgetting the scientifically proven correlations with heart and brain diseases".
The exchange ends with a vein of irony and a proposal: "I love to compare myself and, ironically for ironically, I thought, Luciana, to give you a gift. I know that you too have had problems with your teeth and so I wanted to dedicate a video to you to show you how I would transform your smile. If you like it and if you accept, I will even pay for your plane ticket to arrive on time, here transportation really works, in one of my studios and, perhaps, Fabio Fazio can be our witness. What do you think?"
(Unioneonline/D)
