He is not afraid of escapes forward, of unexpected adversaries, of internal fibrillations. Calm and chalk: the negotiation is open. Borders and allies are still being settled, but Christian Solinas claims the right to play the game of reconfirmation as head of the center-right which - he specifies - "is also civic and sardist". He began: «I am still the president of the Region and I lead a coalition with the duty to complete this legislature, the most decimated in the history of autonomy. We have had to face epochal emergencies such as Covid and war conflicts on the Russian-Ukrainian front and in the Middle East, with the consequent reckless increase in the costs of energy and raw materials." So the message, clear above all to the recipients: «I believe that, in the face of a legislature that has in fact been halved compared to the ordinary duration by these emergencies, there is a need for continuity to be able to complete the projects started».
President Solinas, the mayor of Cagliari Paolo Truzzu has put himself at the service of the coalition. Is the center-right at risk of running divided?
«I believe that in the centre-right, at a national level, there is the will to keep the coalition together in order to win the elections again. I don't see friends who propose their legitimate aspirations as adversaries, but I am convinced that the center-right must begin to think as a mature political and cultural community, which presents itself to the electorate as a reliable and reassuring force. The availability of other candidates is a democratic fact, but I think that everyone deserves to be able to go to a second term both in the Municipality of Cagliari and in the Region".
Is he also ready to run alone with the Psd'Az?
«These are decisions that the Sardinian Action Party will take within its bodies, as it has done in its long history, evaluating the political situation with our friends in the League. Today there is a programmatic alliance, with a broad center-right coalition with Sardinian traction, which we would like to confirm. If others broke the founding pact, we would be forced to evaluate the best strategy. My council has initiated important reforms and provided answers in key sectors. I believe it deserves to complete this journey because, on many fronts, it started from largely compromised situations."
An identical email was sent to numerous Italian schools: students in public squares from Cagliari to Sassari. Crosetto: "Strategy, but there are also idiots and mythomaniacs."
The mobilization
the interview
Solinas: «I deserve a second term»
The governor across the board, from the "no" to wind power to health reform: "It was the most decimated legislature in history." Truzzu? «It's right that he shows up again in Cagliari»
Scott Bessent was the face of the US economic pressure campaign on Tehran
Which?
«Healthcare, for example: I entered the government of the Region after the establishment of the ATS, the single company, which the Sardinians asked us to review. And I did it, bringing back the territorial structure of the local health authorities without closing even one hospital. Those who preceded us did not cover the turnover for years and contributed to a progressive reduction in the number of doctors and socio-health and nursing staff. Today, an incorrect planning of limited numbers in medical faculties has come to an end, which lasted for decades and which does not depend on the Region, but on the State and the Universities. We managed to obtain an expansion of the number programmed in the faculties of Cagliari and Sassari, but we ask for a total moratorium for a number of years such as to allow us to bring a sufficient number of professionals back into the public health service. Furthermore, the previous council financed just 29 specialization scholarships in the medical area and 6 in the non-medical area: we increased them to 259 for the former and 81 for the others. But these are interventions that need time to bear fruit: a medical degree lasts 6 years, a specialization 5. In the meantime we have started a virtuous path."
Are new hospitals part of this journey?
«I believe that Sardinians deserve more doctors, fewer waiting lists and a more efficient healthcare system. We have included two important items in the reform law: on the one hand, with one and a half billion, the construction of four modern hospitals in Cagliari, Sassari, Sulcis and Alghero, where the main existing facilities will be transferred. On the other, the redevelopment of the remaining hospitals, which we have begun to equip with cutting-edge equipment. I'm thinking of the recently inaugurated resonance imaging facilities at Brotzu or the new linear accelerators for radiotherapy in the oncology hospital."
And this is where the "case" of the new stadium in Cagliari comes in.
«We said from the beginning that Cagliari needed a new home to host the Brotzu and the Oncology hospital. To do this I set aside the necessary resources, part of the billion and a half allocated for the new hospitals, which have never been an alternative or in competition with those planned for the sports facilities. No one has ever said: "either we build a stadium or we build a hospital". Those who wanted to exploit the issue introduced a virus that poisoned a public debate, in which I hoped civil society as a whole would take part. I never expected it to turn into a sterile controversy or a more or less artificial contrast between the Municipality and the Region."
So will the “Gigi Riva” happen?
"I really hope so. But this, despite what people wanted to believe, does not depend on me. The relationship is between the Municipality, owner of the administrative procedure, and Cagliari. The Region was asked for a substantial contribution, allocated by law. It should be clarified that there is no other Region in Italy that has financed the construction of a stadium. We have provided coverage for 50 million compared to the 10 million allocated by the Municipality. It must be clear that this is public money and that, after the political will, there is an administrative phase in the hands of the managers, who will have to take the steps required by law so that these resources contribute to creating a public sports facility that lives up to the expectations of a club and a fan base that deserves the best."
The best moment of the legislature?
«For a Sardinian president like me, I believe it is worth having signed the most advantageous revenue agreement ever for Sardinia with the State. We have obtained a reduction in the contribution to the recovery of public finances, which has fallen from over 800 million per year to just over 300. That is to say 500 million more each year on the financial law to be allocated to the various sector policies. Furthermore, even before insularity was recognized in the Constitution, I obtained not only a table for the quantification of the permanent structural disadvantages deriving from the condition of insularity, but even an advance of these sums, which was worth 66 million in 2021 and 100 million starting from 2022 for each year. In the same agreement I brought one and a half billion for investments, 111 million for healthcare construction and over 450 to settle previous disputes."
The worst one, though?
«Certainly the first Covid infections, when we had to face an emergency situation that took the whole world by surprise. We had to prepare extraordinary measures to provide immediate relief to the Sardinians. The institutions, doctors, operators and citizens have been able to come together. And I like to remember that Sardinia was the region that managed the pandemic in the most orderly manner." +
That's all?
"No. We have painfully experienced the passing of valid collaborators such as councilor Roberto Frongia, of colleagues and friends such as Giorgio Oppi, Giorgio Ladu, Feliletto Contu and many that it would be impossible to mention them all. On a personal level, then, I think the constant attempt to demonize my figure perpetrated in recent years by some perhaps disappointed cliques and camarillas is evident, aimed at generating a widespread feeling of hatred that has nothing to do with politics. Luckily I enjoy the esteem and friendship of many people who, knowing me well, know how false and exploitative certain mud is and encourage me to move forward."
What position do you have on the wind assault on the Sardinian coasts?
«I will defend our land by all means from any speculative and predatory attempt. The Region has always been clearly in favor of the Island and its landscape. For too many times in history we have paid for servitude of all kinds. No one can think of transforming Sardinia into an energy colony on the Peninsula, on whose territory Italy pays the bill for the Paris Agreements on decarbonisation. We are for clean energy, we want to contribute to the progressive elimination of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, but we ask to be able to plan the areas where the plants will be installed, the quantities and we want this to translate into a perceivable advantage in terms of reducing the costs of bills for citizens and businesses. A balance is needed between the needs of energy reconversion and the reasons for protecting environmental and landscape values which represent a heritage to be passed down to our children."
Is the Region's "no" unconditional?
«We are against an indiscriminate assault. We have challenged the Government's energy decree and are asking to be able to plan areas suitable for installations and limits to prevent the systems from invading the territory without logic and without respecting its natural vocations".
One of his dreams is the Sardinian fleet of sky and sea. «I think it's a rational dream.
As Transport Councilor, 12 years ago, I experimented with the Sardinian naval fleet, but we were crushed by the community regulations on state aid. We have reopened a channel of discussion with the European Commission. A Sardinian fleet would be the most important strategic project to affirm not only the Sardinians' right to mobility, but also the equally fundamental right to accessibility of the island".
Emergencies are also birthrates and depopulation.
«In this legislature the largest plan ever financed on the subject was launched. We aimed to combat the birth rate and depopulation starting, experimentally, from centers with under 3,000 inhabitants, accompanying young couples who want to give birth to a child, adopt one and move or stay in the country, with a contribution for each unborn child of 600 euros per month for the first 5 years of the child's life. Furthermore, we have provided a contribution for the renovation of properties in these centers to provide a home for the family, and within the limits of de minimis we also provide help to set up a small commercial or artisanal business that can create jobs. Already in 2022, 1,442 births in various municipalities have benefited from the bonus and, in 2023, we expect an even better balance."
However, the internal areas ask for much more.
«I like to underline the work to consolidate a favorable image of Sardinia at an international level to attract investments in research, development and innovation. We did this by immediately betting on the great challenge of the Einstein Telescope in Lula, reusing the Sos Enattos mines. An action that is along the same lines as the San Basilio radio telescope and the Aria project, in the Seruci mines, where the mine shaft is being reconverted for the construction of a distillation tower for a noble gas, Argon, which it will be transferred to the National Institute of Nuclear Physics for strategic and research uses."
Are the Region's accounts in order?
«To date I have eliminated the Region's historical deficit and created the conditions for investing huge resources in all sectors. The quality of our work on the accounts has been certified by Fitch, one of the largest rating companies in the world, which for two consecutive years has recognized Sardinia with a higher rating than that of Italy". What grade would you give? «It's not up to me. The citizens will give me the vote in the elections."
