Healthcare, the Giochi del Titano affair, the Association Agreement with the European Union, the cost of living, and the exodus of young people from the Republic. These are the main fronts on which Repubblica Futura is once again going on the attack against the government. During a press conference, Matteo Casali, Antonella Mularoni and Marco Podeschi painted a sharply critical picture of the Executive’s actions.
On the healthcare front, Casali starts from the hearing of the ISS Executive Committee before the Council’s Health Commission. “The hearing of the ISS Executive Committee, which just concluded before the Standing Council Commission on Health, clearly demonstrated one thing: 16 months after the previous ‘governance’ at the head of the Institute was replaced — a change Libera considered the primary cause of the ISS’s unresolved problems — the expected change of pace, the hoped-for ‘leap forward’ in San Marino’s healthcare system, has not materialised,” says Matteo Casali.
“We invited the Executive Committee to take a reality check, looking at concrete cases that describe, better than any argument could, the current state of healthcare in San Marino,” the Repubblica Futura representative continues.
Among the issues raised is that of mammography screening. “On the subject of prevention, it is deeply concerning to hear the Health Director’s remarks on the now well-known mammography screening affair, according to which it cannot be ruled out that more frequent mammograms could create problems for patients, potentially even exposing the Institute to liability,” Casali argues.
Another chapter concerns laboratory tests. Repubblica Futura specifically challenges the approach taken in the motion approved by the majority: “The motion approved by the majority introduces the idea of citizens paying for laboratory tests if requested beyond the guaranteed minimum. But what exactly is the minimum set of tests for a citizen? The impression is that someone is proceeding by trial and error, copying Italian recipes that, step by step, are dismantling our country’s universal healthcare model without building a new one in its place.”
Antonella Mularoni instead focuses on the handling of some of the main open issues facing San Marino, speaking of the “persistent inadequacy of the government in dealing with particularly sensitive matters for the country, which risk creating serious problems both in terms of bilateral relations and with the European Union — especially given the imminent signing of the Association Agreement, which demands a change in how these issues are approached and, above all, requires speed in resolving them while strictly adhering to international best practices.”
Also in the crosshairs is the Giochi del Titano affair, at the centre of an international rogatory request from Ravenna and an investigation in which money laundering is among the hypotheses being examined. Mularoni specifically targets the Secretary of State for Finance, Marco Gatti.
“As for the international rogatory request from Ravenna concerning Giochi del Titano — a company of which the State is now sole shareholder, and which unfortunately is now under investigation on suspicion of money laundering — what the Finance Secretary stated yesterday is simply incredible. Once again, Gatti has shown himself incapable of offering relevant political assessments or conveying the sense that the government has a firm grip on the situation.”
Mularoni continues: “His claim that the opposition should ask members of the Board of Directors or the Board of Auditors for information on the matter was downright ridiculous. It is the Finance Secretary — who, among other things, always attends Giochi del Titano shareholder meetings on behalf of the sole shareholder — who must give citizens clear answers, rather than hiding behind confidentiality or using other parties as a shield, as he has done once again on this occasion. His inadequacy appears, unfortunately, plain to see, both in managing the financial sector and in every other area under his responsibility.”
Another dossier flagged as a priority is the Association Agreement with the European Union. According to Repubblica Futura, as the signing date draws near, key steps on the domestic legislative front are still missing.
“Given how imminent the signing is, and the Foreign Affairs Secretary’s stated intention to have the Agreement enter into force in January or, at the latest, February 2027, there is still no sign of the bills that the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale) is supposed to examine shortly — bills that Beccari has repeatedly told the Foreign Affairs Commission are already ready,” Mularoni argues.
According to the former Secretary of State, moreover, “Secretaries of State continue to act in a scattered, uncoordinated way in sectors that should shortly be regulated differently and comprehensively precisely in light of this Agreement.” Mularoni also cites the recent ratification of the delegated decree on residency permits, which in her view “vividly demonstrates the confusion that reigns supreme and, unfortunately, does not bode well for the government’s ability to properly handle this dossier either — one that demands considerable skill and speed if San Marino is to rise to the challenge of incorporating the EU acquis.”
Repubblica Futura also raises the issue of young Sammarinese choosing to move abroad. Mularoni expresses “great concern for our young people who, highly educated and after a significant investment made by the State in their schooling, are increasingly leaving the Republic to emigrate abroad, where they find far more attractive job opportunities.”
“This too,” she continues, “proves that, beyond the rhetoric, this government — much like the one of the previous legislature — is incapable of creating the conditions for the kind of development that would convince our brightest, most qualified young people to stay in San Marino and help shape its future.”
Marco Podeschi also weighs in on the Giochi del Titano affair, voicing “strong doubts about the government and majority’s approach.”
“I return Marco Gatti’s call for a sense of responsibility and balance in public debate right back to sender. What has happened is a gut punch for every Sammarinese citizen. The judiciary and the relevant authorities will do their job. But politics needs to do some soul-searching too, because running a company that in 2025 posted 8.5 million euros in profit, 31.5 million in revenue and more than 220,000 customers, in the games-of-chance sector, is not like selling bread rolls at a bakery. There were already surprises in the 2024 Board of Directors appointments,” Podeschi states.
The RF representative then broadens the discussion to the economic situation and purchasing power: “This perfect storm comes on top of a cost of living that has gone through the roof, while the government poses for social media photos to announce public-sector pay rises. Too bad the increase has already been swallowed up by inflation and energy costs. We need structural economic policies to protect the purchasing power of employees and pensioners.”
“On this front the government is simply absent… its only concern, it seems, is whether a Formula One driver is still officially a resident of San Marino,” Podeschi concludes.
