Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini says that he’s against nationalizing the country’s motorways following the Genoa bridge disaster.
Salvini, who also serves as interior minister, rejected calls to bring Italy’s vast network of privately managed toll roads and bridges under government control, amid the fallout from the Aug. 14 Morandi viaduct collapse that killed 43 people.
“I am not in favor of nationalizations,” Salvini said Aug. 23 in a radio interview, but he indicated that the terms of state concessions need to be reviewed, and he remains open to the possibility of “a mix of public and private management.”
Most of Italy’s highway system of about 6,750 kilometers (approx. 4,200 miles) of roads is managed by private companies under state-issued concessions. The Atlantia group, through its subsidiary Autostrade per L’Italia, operates about half of the total, at 3,000 kilometers (approx. 1,900 miles).
Autostrade, the company that was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the collapsed Genoa bridge, has come under intense scrutiny by politicians keen to channel public anger and contain political fallout from the tragedy.
Italy’s other deputy prime minister, Luigi Di Maio, said in a Facebook post the day after the disaster, “Those responsible for the tragedy in Genoa have a name and a surname, and they’re called Autostrade per l’Italia.”
Engineering specialists have speculated about what may have brought the bridge down; some point to known design flaws, others question maintenance. Overwhelmingly, though, they said nothing definitive can be proclaimed until an investigation has run its course.
Stefano Marigliani, Autostrade’s director for the Genoa area, said the collapse was “unexpected and unpredictable.”
Concession to Operate
Italy has begun formal procedures aimed at revoking Autostrade’s contract, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. Such a move is estimated by Mediobanca analysts to potentially cost the government about 22 billion euros ($25.5 billion) in early cancellation penalties, while other analyses, including by Italy’s main union confederation, put the cost at 15 billion to 18 billion euros ($17 billion and $21 billion).Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has criticized moves to take away the concession, saying it would not only punish Autostrade, but also strain Italy’s beleaguered public finances.
“Governing is more complicated than writing a Facebook post: If the concession is canceled, paradoxically, it’s a gift for Autostrade, because of the amount of money you would have to pay” to cancel the contract, Berlusconi said, according to The Local.
“In the face of such a tragedy, a civilized nation should come together instead of dividing itself,” he said, adding the caveat that those responsible "should pay every last cent.”
But calls for a more measured response are unlikely to be heeded by some of Italy’s governing politicians, at least not in the immediate wake of the tragedy.
“There’s no desire for revenge in Genoa but there is a need for JUSTICE,” Salvini tweeted on Monday.
Some members of the coalition of Salvini’s right-wing League Party and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement have gone even further, calling for the state to take over all the motorways.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Danilo Toninelli was quoted by the Milan daily Corriere della Sera as saying that he supports the nationalization of Italy’s toll highways.
“Think of all the revenues that would return to the government through tolls, to use not to donate to shareholders’ dividends but to reinforce the quality of service and security on our roadways,” Toninelli was quoted as saying.
It is unclear how financially viable a solution that might be, given the lack of feasibility studies or the dire state of Italy’s crumbling infrastructure, which is in need of massive investment.
Tens of thousands of bridges and viaducts are well past their prime and need repair or replacement, an Italian civil engineering association said recently.
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