The progressive camp: "Iacolino investigation, government at the end of the line, go home"

The investigation by the Palermo Prosecutor's Office involving Salvatore Iacolino, appointed general director of the Policlinico di Messina just a few days ago, is causing a political uproar, with numerous opposition figures calling for the resignation of the regional government. "The news of the investigation involving Salvatore Iacolino, which has even led to the arrest of a regional official, all under the shadow of the mafia, opens unsettling scenarios. For these reasons, the parties and movements of the progressive camp will hold a joint press conference tomorrow at 9:45 in the press room of the Sicilian Regional Assembly to demand that this indecent government resigns. This is stated in a note by Pd, M5s, Controcorrente, Avs, Italia viva, Progetto civico Italia, spazio Civico, Psi, +Europa, and Più Uno.

"What is emerging from the press is chilling. Iacolino, the super-manager wanted by Schifani, is under investigation for external complicity in mafia association and aggravated corruption. Meanwhile, Bernardette Grasso, from Forza Italia, is said to have had connections with a boss, according to investigators. I am at a loss for words, and Schifani cannot remain silent once again." This is stated by regional deputy and leader of Controcorrente, Ismaele La Vardera.

"This government - he adds - no longer has a majority worthy of being in that palace. A large part of them is under investigation and being scrutinized, most recently Mancuso, still from Forza Italia, who was taking bribes. This story must end; Schifani is proving to be the worst governor ever, turning our Sicily into a joke. I hope - concludes La Vardera - that after this latest news, which has shattered morality and decency, in addition to revoking Iacolino and forcing Grasso to resign, he also resigns, so as to restore to our Island the freedom it deserves.

"It is yet another investigation into corruption that is engulfing the Sicilian region. And this time it concerns one of the highest echelons of the healthcare system, which, according to the investigation by the Palermo prosecutor's office, was even in contact with a mafia boss. This is undoubtedly the worst government in the history of our region, which winks at power systems that manage to infiltrate, draining funds and resources from the regional healthcare service, belittled and weakened. In the halls of power, deals are made while Sicilian patients are forced to wait 8 months for a histological report, arriving well past the maximum time, while many resort to treatment outside the region. Fortunately, once again, the judiciary, free and independent, to which I extend my praise and strong support, has managed to thwart yet another episode of corruption, without looking anyone in the face. This is exactly what the center-right would like to prevent by punishing magistrates who do not align with the government's wishes." This is stated by the regional secretary of the Pd Sicilia and deputy Anthony Barbagallo.

"The latest investigation by the Palermo prosecutor's office confirms, if there was any need, that the mafia, even through the corruption of unfaithful public officials, manages to infiltrate the regional administrative machine to get its hands on strategic sectors such as healthcare and waste management. I wonder how President Schifani can justify that a director arrested and on trial for corruption has remained in his position, indeed has been encouraged to stay in service beyond retirement age, as if he were an indispensable resource," says the regional spokesperson for Europa Verde Sicilia Fabio Giambrone after the investigation by the Palermo prosecutor's office into a bribery scheme that regional director Giancarlo Teresi allegedly pocketed from a mafia entrepreneur. "I also wonder what criteria, if not those of political and friendly ties, are used to identify the managers of the regional healthcare system," Giambrone comments in reference to the involvement in the investigation of Iacolino as well.

"An investigation that weighs like a boulder on the Schifani government. Once again, an alarming picture emerges, with healthcare bent to serve the interests of the devastating combination of crime and politics. All this while Sicilians are daily denied the right to health. In the face of this yet another, very serious investigation, President Schifani has a duty to stop: the investigations that are crushing his government should make him understand that he has reached the end of the line," comments Michele Catanzaro, group leader of the Pd at the Ars.

"Very serious accusations, having made available to a boss friend a real network of contacts and relationships in the Region - he adds - The investigations will take their course and our guarantee remains. But once again, a picture of closeness between regional politics and criminal interests seems to come to light, which is concerning and unfortunately poisons our land," adds Fabio Micari, member of the Iv Sicilia board.

Joining the chorus is Alfio Mannino, general secretary of Cgil Sicilia: "Manager Iacolino, under investigation for external complicity in mafia association and corruption, is one of the protagonists of the collapse of Sicilian healthcare and its entanglements with politics. As Cgil, our position and our denunciations of his inadequacy have always been clear and timely, but we have never received responses from the regional government. Now that extremely serious criminal hypotheses are emerging, it is indeed the case that the president of the Region suspends him from all positions."
"In general - Mannino adds - the picture that emerges, of mafia infiltrations in the administration and ties with bureaucrats who are in turn linked to politics, is disturbing. But alarms about this have never ceased, without any measures from politics to act as a barrier to corruption and infiltrations that regularly come to light thanks to the investigations of the judiciary, involving prominent figures."