Covid-19, relaunch: the Italy of Giuseppe Conte is recovering

It's Easter in Genoa. And maybe also for all of Italy. This Monday, August 3 will be if not a day of resurrection, or even of jubilation, at least a day marked by the return of hope, after years of sluggish growth, collapse of bridges and tunnel vaults, not to mention a Covid-19 crisis which killed 35,000 people.

The inauguration Monday at 6.30 p.m. of the new bridge in Genoa, the San Giorgio which replaces the Morandi bridge which collapsed on August 14, 2018 causing 43 deaths, will be for the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte, the opportunity to to hold a speech of hope for the whole nation, in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. Even if the opening of this high-tech bridge connected to obsolete highways is accompanied by an incredible chaos of traffic jams, the event goes beyond the Genoese chronicle. "We were able to", already rejoiced Il Corriere della Sera in full confinement. “We came out of our September 11th at an unimaginable speed that no one would have thought possible… When it is over, we will be proud of it. And it may be the sign of a new beginning. For Genoa, and for Italy. " A perspective that the country needs, as it takes the measure of the appalling impact of containment on its economy, which dropped 12.3% in the second quarter compared to the first.

To read also: Two years after the tragedy, the hope of an opening up for the Genoa

This inauguration also resonates as a moment of consecration for Giuseppe Conte, who will have been the prime minister of the drama but also that of the rebirth. A renaissance that goes beyond the bridge of Genoa. During the Covid crisis, the head of the Italian government acted as a scout in Europe from January 30.

Today, Italy is one of the European countries where the health situation seems more or less under control, with no more than 200 to 400 new cases of coronavirus per day. The few infectious outbreaks led him to extend the state of emergency until October 15.

The President of the Council also played a key role in reaching the European agreement of July 21 on 750 billion in aid for the recovery. His talent as a negotiator has even enabled Italy to receive no less than 209 billion in aid from Europe, including 81 billion in grants and 128 billion in loans. Spectacular amounts which make it by far the main beneficiary of European solidarity. And which earned him, on his return from Brussels, strong applause in the Senate, Conte finally appearing the natural leader of the majority of the 5-star Movement-Democratic Party.

Today, while he collects 43.9% favorable opinions according to Euromedia Research, he is even considered by 30% of Italians as "the best President of the Council since 1994, winning first place ahead of Silvio Berlusconi and Romano Prodi. » , According to Ilvo Diamanti, political scientist at the Demos Institute. It is as if a new political sequence is finally opening up for Italy, which is quicker to react to crises. The question remains whether it will be able to take advantage of this state of grace and this shower of European funds.

National pride

But today, this bridge which united the Italians in the tragedy, brings them together again in the pride of having carried out alone this extraordinary project and in a time that nobody believed realistic. During the ceremony for the installation of the last span on April 28, Giuseppe Conte had already noted that this was indeed “the symbol of Italy which knows how to get up, of Italy which rolls up its sleeves. From Italy which does not allow itself to be overwhelmed by such a painful tragedy. Who knows how to combine their skills, their sense of duty and responsibility ” .

Through the star architect, the Genoese Renzo Piano, this bridge will have brought together all that Italy has talent. When the eastern and western shores of the Polcevera were reconnected, the sirens of the shipyard and the ships docked in the harbor began to sound together. The Webuild company projected each evening, the green, white and red flag on the piles of the bridge. And Monday evening, the fighter planes will draw a tricolor cross of San Giorgio in the sky. He must be celebrated, this Italian genius who reappears in times of crisis.

Read also: New bridge in Genoa: the secrets of the success of an extraordinary project

This exceptional bridge is now pushing the construction world to ask Rome to draw all the lessons from it: “This work should serve as an example for the entire country,” says Webuild CEO Pietro Salini. Italy can start from scratch: it has talent, energy, passion and skills at its disposal. ” Because for manufacturers, there is a "model of Genoa" which must be extended to all major projects awaiting the green light to start. This accelerated procedure makes it possible to avoid the Italian public procurement code, and is based in part on a system of self-certification for companies, reinforced by the prohibition of all appeals.

The fact remains that there is no unanimity on the advisability of generalizing a model designed to face tragedy: "Built in derogation from common law, bypassing many standards ", affirms Maurizio Caprino le specialist in Il Sole 24 Ore infrastructures , " this bridge cannot constitute a model that can be reproduced on other infrastructures because it would open up a space for corruption, which would be devastating for the country."