The future of the hospital, the management of the ISS (Institute for Social Security), the case of Dr Giovanni Landolfo and the struggles of public healthcare. Health once again became a flashpoint in San Marino’s political debate, with the opposition pressing the government for answers on some of the most sensitive issues facing citizens. During the Grand and General Council session on Wednesday, 21 October, the debate on the association agreement with the European Union made room for the Republic’s domestic troubles as well. And healthcare once again came under fire.
Among the sharpest interventions was that of Mirko Dolcini, a councillor for Domani Motus Liberi, who challenged the management of the health sector and pointed to the excessive weight of politics within the Social Security Institute (ISS). According to Dolcini, too many questions remain unanswered, starting with the future of the new hospital and the case involving Dr Giovanni Landolfo.
The councillor placed healthcare within a broader set of problems that, in his view, the government is failing to address with the necessary concreteness. From the banking affairs at Giochi del Titano to the organisation of health services, Dolcini called for decisions and clarity, accusing the ruling majority of focusing too much on announcements and too little on results. His closing remark was particularly blunt: “All talk and no action.”
The new hospital was also a central focus for Gaetano Troina, also of Domani Motus Liberi. The councillor pointed to the lack of answers regarding the future of the healthcare facility and the prospects for San Marino’s health system — an issue that directly affects the organisation of care, and on which the opposition continues to demand greater clarity.
The matter goes beyond buildings and investments, touching also on the functioning of services and the ability of the public health system to meet the population’s needs. The political crux lies in understanding what direction is being pursued and what measures are planned for the hospital’s future.
Attention was also drawn to the sector’s difficulties by Nicola Renzi of Repubblica Futura, who listed healthcare among the critical issues that have emerged during the current term. The councillor specifically raised the matter of mammogram screenings, alongside the banking affairs and other cases that have fuelled political controversy in recent months.
Renzi urged the ruling majority to avoid triumphalist tones and to engage with the issues still unresolved. “Let’s try to set aside the rhetoric of triumphalism,” he said, calling on the government to assess the results achieved so far and correct what isn’t working. At the midpoint of the legislature, he argued, it is necessary to “take stock of what has happened so far and change course.”
Another issue concerns the relationship between public and private healthcare. This was raised by Giovanni Maria Zonzini of RETE, who drew attention to the growing turnover of private healthcare facilities and questioned the reasons behind this trend.
The councillor linked this growth to the struggles of the public system, asking whether the expansion of private healthcare might be connected to the difficulties citizens face in accessing services — an issue intertwined with the cost of living and inequality, which were also central to his remarks.
Zonzini also denounced the erosion of workers’ purchasing power, estimated at at least 5%, and the rise in rents, which have grown faster than general inflation. These economic hardships, he argued, are pushing young people and families to seek more sustainable living conditions elsewhere.
The call to focus on healthcare also came from the Captains Regent, Gerardo Giovagnoli and William Casali, who in their opening remarks urged the institutions not to lose sight of people’s everyday needs — among them, purchasing power, access to housing, and the ability to receive necessary medical care.
Several issues therefore remain unresolved — from the future of the new hospital to the management of the ISS, from the Landolfo affair to the balance between public and private healthcare. These are matters on which, throughout the session, opposition parties demanded clarity and concrete action, placing healthcare once again at the heart of San Marino’s political debate.
