There's barely time to catch a breath and the race is already underway for control of the remaining uncovered companies: Cagliari, Sassari, and Olbia. These are the three most important local health authorities in Sardinia. Cagliari's, in particular, encompasses a territory of seventy municipalities and 540,000 inhabitants. In theory, given that of the appointments made on December 31st (in the other five local health authorities, at Areus and Brotzu), only one is attributable to the Democratic Party—Paolo Cannas in Sulcis—it's reasonable to assume that the Democrats will want to have their say on the last three. But it's not a given that Alessandra Todde and the Five Star Movement won't put up any resistance.

The favorite

The Regional President would not mind if the recently dismissed commissioner, Aldo Atzori, were confirmed at Local Health Authority 8. Ten days ago, she made her first official appearance as interim health commissioner with him, for the health authority's social and healthcare conference. On that occasion, the manager outlined "the projects completed during his eight-month term, including the implementation of the plan to recover thirty thousand advance appointments for visits and tests." He also explained that for the future, "the goal is to move beyond the hospital-centric model, strengthen the local network, work towards integration between healthcare levels and social services, develop community care and telemedicine models to meet local needs, reduce inappropriate hospital access, and ensure continuity of care." Specifically, "with the creation of community homes and community hospitals, we must accelerate the activation of the facilities envisaged by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to strengthen the presence of general practitioners and pediatricians in the island's peripheral areas."

From beyond the Tyrrhenian Sea

But someone from beyond the Tyrrhenian Sea could also arrive at ASL 8. Perhaps Tuscan Joseph Polimeni, who would be particularly welcome to the Democratic Party. Also in the running is Thomas Schael, fresh from managing the City of Health in Turin. Both are among the candidates deemed suitable for the directorate general of the eight ASLs, including those of Sassari and Olbia. But Paolo Tauro continues to appear to be the frontrunner for the Sassari ASL. His political affiliation is difficult to pin down, but his name satisfies Desirè Manca, a Five Star Movement regional councilor and Labor councilor. In theory, Tauro is also a candidate for the Gallura health authority. In this case, the opinion of the Budget councilor and regional vice president, Giuseppe Meloni, a Democrat, will have considerable weight.