In the past few days three stories appeared that tell us who is actually getting anything done in Venice.
1) Referendum Delayed: After months of deliberation, Veneto Region President Luca Zaia has announced that the Referendum on the separation of Venice and Mestre will NOT be held in conjunction with the Referendum for Veneto independence to be held on Oct. 22, 2017. Zaia has said that the separation referendum will be held in early 2018. Given that both referenda remain under legal challenge at this date, Zaia’s decision can only be seen as political, and along with Luigi Brugnaro’s reversal of support for and subsequent legal challenges to separation, a betrayal of thousands of voters who have worked tirelessly for this referendum.
2) MoSE Delayed: Once again it has been announced that MoSE is subject to rust, deterioration, lack of maintenance for the machinery already in the water, and general lack of functioning. All of these issues were reported last Fall, only to be denied by the authorities. Now the damage is so bad that the projected activation date has been moved up, once again, to at least four years in the future – and who knows how much more money will be spent.
3) ‘Yuppi Du’ All Paid: Gruppo 25 Aprile has published a list of donors to the screening of Yuppi Du on 29 August. The list includes 239 individuals and groups that contributed over 8000 Euro for the screening – in the space of one week.
These stories only drive home the point that was made in one of the speeches at San Polo: Venetians are not the problem – Venetians are the solution. While Government betrays, wastes and destroys, the Citizens are building trust, community and culture – in short, the future. And Our Future Is Venice!
Campaign For A Living Venice 