Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
An exchange of blows between Giuseppe Carta and Tiziano Spada over recent events that have fuelled political debate in the Syracuse area. The member of the Sicilian Regional Assembly for Grande Sicilia has issued a long statement contesting the account given by his colleague and the mayor of Solarino, focusing on the management of AERCA areas, environmental clean-up operations and the clash at the Sicilian Regional Assembly (ARS).
“Stop the victim act; instead, take action to clean up the dumps in Solarino to protect public health and explain why this has not been done so far,” is the opening shot with which Carta begins his reply.
The MP defends the work done through his institutional and administrative activity, rejecting the idea that public funds could be seen as personal favours. “The ‘favours’, as he calls them, are in fact the result of institutional work, study and dedication in carrying out the role of mayor and MP,” he states.
The AERCA funding dispute
One of the central points of the reply concerns Spada’s claims about an alleged intention to exclude Solarino and Floridia from AERCA. Carta asks his colleague to specify the circumstances, places and people to whom he had expressed such a plan, arguing that the protection of the area must come through laws and institutional initiatives, “certainly not through violence”.
The MP also contests the account of a possible new funding round for AERCA areas in the next budget law, stressing that these are two separate laws. “The budget amendment under discussion in the chamber at the time of the clash had nothing to do with the law already in force for AERCA areas,” he clarifies.
In support of his argument, Carta also cites the allocation of €36,000 by Floridia’s mayor, Marco Carianni, for Christmas events in 2026.
“Clarify the delays on clean-ups”
The environmental issue is one of the most sensitive aspects of the dispute. Carta refers to the dump at contrada Cugno Randazzo, identified as number 527, and other sites listed by the regional waste department as contaminated or potentially contaminated, claiming that the relevant procedures are still stalled.
“Areas within AERCA must be managed, not abandoned,” the MP declares, directly challenging Spada on the characterisation of polluted sites and environmental matrix investigations, which, according to his account, could have benefited from AERCA funds.
Carta also calls on the mayor of Solarino to outline the concrete steps taken for health prevention and public health protection, extending the argument to neighbouring Floridia.
The disputes over political relations
The statement also addresses the alleged contacts with some Grande Sicilia municipal councillors in Solarino, which were supposedly intended to exert pressure ahead of the regional elections. After initially implicating Spada, Carta revises his account and assigns the leading role in the affair to Floridia’s mayor, Marco Carianni, suggesting that he had broad delegated powers in the political negotiations.
The MP also weighs in on the funding for the feast of San Paolo, Solarino’s patron saint, arguing that the event called Festa dei Carroccioli is fully part of the patronal celebrations and that Spada’s objections are misplaced.
Carta then criticises his colleague’s decision to speak from Floridia’s political secretariat rather than from Solarino town hall, believing that, out of institutional respect, matters concerning the town should have been addressed at the municipal seat.
The ARS clash and the apology
The final part of the reply concerns the clash at the Sicilian Regional Assembly. Carta claims that it was the ARS president, Gaetano Galvagno, who summoned Spada to invite him to issue a formal apology, which Carta says he accepted to avoid Spada’s suspension from parliamentary activity.
“Dear Tiziano, please stop this demagogic victim act, which is completely out of place,” the MP writes, urging Spada to take responsibility for his tone and behaviour in the chamber.
Carta finally interprets the term “padrone”, used in the political exchange, as a reference to the role of promoter and defender of the area, rejecting the negative implications attributed to him.
He concludes with another attack on his colleague: “You should admit you were wrong in your tone and content, you should apologise not so much to me as to the citizens of the entire province of Syracuse and to all regional parliamentary colleagues.”
The MP then defends the work done by the governing majority, by Grande Sicilia and by his own group, citing in particular the AERCA laws and stating that he worked hard to secure their approval.
