We reprint in full the speech by Denise Bronzetti (AR) in the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale), under the communications item on the agenda.
Denise Bronzetti (AR): I’ll start right away with a point prompted by the speech that preceded mine, to bring back to this chamber what is also something of a pet cause — if I may use that word — for Alleanza Riformista: regulatory simplification. While joining everyone in congratulating what has rightly been described as a historic moment — the signing of the agreement with the European Union — we would like, from today, to seize this moment, hailed as historic for our Republic, to turn it into an opportunity for growth and genuine advantage. Much has been said, and much will need to be said in the coming weeks and months, about alignment with the EU acquis. We would like this process, too, to become an opportunity for growth for this country, particularly in terms of cutting red tape and streamlining the rules that have piled up over time — rules that certainly do not help even those who approach this country with serious intentions. I am thinking also of potential investors, or of people who, precisely because of this agreement, will decide to come and invest, live and work in this country. I believe this is our opportunity to offer all these people — but first and foremost our own citizens — a regulatory framework that is smart, effective, understandable and immediately usable. This is one of the great challenges before us starting from the coming days.
Since we are talking about Europe, I think a few words should also be said about the unrest — forgive the pun — that has been occurring across Europe, including in neighbouring Italy, in recent days. As much as our Republic remains an island of calm in terms of safety and tranquillity, we cannot ignore that, in recent days, our own students who travel to study in Italy were alerted by a whole series of messages circulating online and on mobile phones about these incidents, which I believe we too must firmly condemn. It is true, as has been noted in several speeches before mine, that there are emergency situations, with families struggling to make ends meet. It is true that there is a housing emergency — and we have one here in the Republic too. It is true that prices have surged — and we feel that here as well. I believe these protests against such situations should certainly serve as a wake-up call for politics. I want to stress, firmly and forcefully, what this majority has already done on housing and family support: it is certainly an improvable achievement, and it has not exhausted its potential there. But it is not enough. If we want these protests and this violence — which are continuing to occur very close to us — to stop, then politics, and Europe itself, of which we are now proud to be part, having joined the great European family, must make an extra effort so that families and individuals do not find themselves in the situations we are increasingly witnessing today. So this is a strong call to all of politics to be productive, and, in light of this historic milestone, to improve its own legislation and address the problems Europe faces daily — problems from which San Marino is not exempt either.
Allow me a brief aside on what has already been said regarding the Giochi del Titano affair. Our main concern is to protect the company, the people who work there, and the company’s leadership. We believe this situation — which was immediately addressed with measures, including temporary ones, to ensure the company’s continuity — must take into account the people who work honestly within it, as well as those who, until now, at various levels, have run it successfully. Let us not forget that Giochi del Titano is the largest taxpayer in the state budget. I therefore believe it is in everyone’s interest that individual responsibilities come to light, and, if they are not individual, that the responsibilities of whoever was in charge of oversight within that company also emerge. We believe that in situations like this, clarity must always be sought — but bearing in mind that there is a company, its workers, and all the people of good will who work there.
As for the other topic raised under communications, concerning the work of the Health Commission, I believe this Council must also keep paying the utmost attention here. There are probably radical changes that our healthcare system will have to face. I have already said, and we have said on several occasions, that we are not afraid of an increase in healthcare spending, given the services the State must continue to provide, bearing in mind that our population is constantly ageing. We certainly cannot think that healthcare spending, for this and for many other reasons, could decrease rather than increase. That said, the attention this Grand and General Council and the government pay to healthcare must remain very high at all times — not only to continue guaranteeing a universal system, but to accompany the changes that healthcare needs. We have said time and again that politics must certainly be an interlocutor, not merely a speaker: it must know how to set the necessary rules, but when it comes to other dynamics, it must know when to step back. This is what we reiterate forcefully today, and it is what we hope for, alongside this path of association that we wanted and that we hope will produce its positive effects. It is also up to us, as we have already said, to ensure these positive aspects are communicated promptly and with the utmost transparency to citizens — some of whom, let us remember, remain unsure about the association agreement. It will be up to us, and us alone, to guide them along this path.
