“It is necessary to go ahead with the TAV, not go back,” said Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, leader of the League. Although the party has indicated in recent days that the project could be scaled back. “The most reasonable thing is to downsize,” said Giancarlo Giorgetti, undersecretary to the prime minister and a key League figure, on Sunday.
The issue became even more fraught for the 5Stars after the Genoa bridge collapse that killed 43 people. Part of the movement’s early appeal was its opposition to infrastructure projects, including a new highway in Genoa — and it is now paying the political price. Its earlier dismissal of warnings that the bridge was fragile as a “children’s tale” has now been scrubbed from the party website (screenshot here). [...]
The 5Stars are now hedging their earlier opposition. Toninelli has commissioned a cost-benefit analysis before he makes a decision. Deputy Prime Minister (and 5Stars leader) Luigi Di Maio promised to “rethink” the project and to renegotiate the terms with Paris. [...]
The 270-km rail line is supposed to be completed by 2030. It includes an €8.6 billion, 57-kilometer tunnel running under the Alps, and is part of the EU’s Mediterranean transport corridor. The goal is to shift some of the truck traffic running between France and Italy onto rail, which would help reduce EU reliance on oil imports and cut emissions from transport.
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