Region, head-on clash with FdI: Bertolaso ​​resigns, Fontana rejects it and shields him (for now)

Milan – This time we have come particularly close to breaking point. If it had been up to him alone, Guido Bertolaso ​​would no longer be regional councilor for Welfare as of yesterday morning. It was the president of the Region, Attilio Fontana, who refused his resignation and prevented him from leaving the Lombardy government. The two discussed it just yesterday morning at Palazzo Lombardia and the governor convinced Bertolaso ​​to back down from his plan . At least for now. In fact, the issue may not be completely closed, the farewell could only be postponed.

Proof of this is that, according to rumors, Fontana himself, who - it is worth repeating - wanted Bertolaso ​​in his executive and never failed to show him either his appreciation or his support, is apparently starting to test the waters to understand who could eventually take the place of the former Head of Civil Protection.

Polls that would be a warning of the level of conflict reached in the Lombardy Council between Bertolaso ​​and Fratelli d'Italia. The reasons that led the Welfare minister to clash with FdI and, therefore, to put his resignation on Fontana's table are two: the agreement signed with the NAS carabinieri to understand why waiting lists in healthcare do not decrease proportionally to the increase in services but also the slow progress of the great Sesto project of the City of Health.

On the first issue, on Monday in the Council there was a very tough clash between Bertolaso ​​and Romano La Russa, head of the FdI delegation and councilor for Security. La Russa contested Bertolaso ​​for having signed the agreement with the NAS without involving FdI and the rest of the executive in defining the operational details of the protocol, he expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the instrument itself, underlining how the same inspection task is the responsibility of the Health Protection Agencies (ATS) but also, in his opinion, of the Lombardy Social Health System Control Agency. But what really infuriated Bertolaso ​​was the proposal launched by La Russa himself: to be supported by a figure who can help the Welfare councilor himself to do his job better and communicate better with the rest of the councilors.

Too much for Bertolaso , who at that point, according to rumors, reminded La Russa that he was a Gold Medal of Merit for Public Health and made it clear that he did not believe he needed to take lessons on the matter. Shouts flew.

The other issue of conflict, much more important and delicate, concerns, as mentioned, the Città di Salute project in Sesto San Giovanni, in the area where the historic Falck steelworks once stood. A project that dates back to 2007 and has enormous critical issues on at least two fronts, closely linked: that of reclamation and that of costs. The ideas of Bertolaso ​​and those of Aria Spa (the subsidiary of the Region rightly or wrongly considered a fiefdom of FdI) on how to proceed with the process and the works do not coincide, they have not converged for some time. And this conflict is producing delays that are seriously jeopardizing compliance with the 2027 deadline, a deadline that is already very close and in which few believe.

Hence a continuous and mutual exchange of accusations, especially behind closed doors. But not only behind closed doors: it was April 18, 2024, just over a year ago, when Bertolaso, during a public event at the Neurologico Besta , surprising everyone, underlined how the cleanups had to be carried out in the same way both on the areas that will host the Besta itself and the National Cancer Institute, the two hospitals scheduled to move from Milan to Sesto, and on the areas that will host functions and services collateral to the hospital one. And this is just one of the issues still unresolved. As for the possible replacement of Bertolaso, the name of Mario Melazzini, a true member of the CL, former Health Councilor with Roberto Formigoni, and current Director General of Welfare, is being mentioned . But it is not certain that he is the only one on the launch pad.