Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
PALERMO / POLITICS & AGRICULTURE – A political row has erupted at the Sicilian Regional Assembly over the funds allocated to agriculture in the new stability law proposal. At the heart of the controversy is the exclusion of the Sicilian wine sector, which has been left without dedicated financial measures in the text approved by the island’s regional executive.
The issue was raised by Dario Safina, a Democratic Party MP at the Assembly, who accused the regional executive of failing to honour its commitments to vine growers and island businesses:
“Once again the regional government is betraying the expectations of Sicily’s wine sector and the pledges it made. In the stability law proposal there is not a single chapter, let alone any funding, to support viticulture and businesses in the sector, which are one of the cornerstones of our agricultural economy,” the PD MP stressed.
“A deliberate political choice”: the fight promised in the chamber
According to the opposition member at Palazzo dei Normanni, the total absence of resources in the budget document cannot be dismissed as a mere technical oversight but reveals a clear stance by the regional administration in the face of the difficulties experienced by the supply chain:
- The political accusation: “This is not a simple accounting oversight but a deliberate political choice: to ignore the needs of a sector going through a difficult phase and which instead needs concrete answers, support tools and a relaunch strategy,” Safina said, announcing that the Democratic Party group would resolutely table amendments and targeted measures to give relief to local businesses.
- Appeal to the parliamentary majority: judging the regional executive to lack any vision for agriculture, the PD MP finally issued a direct call to colleagues who support the government to change course during the chamber debate: “We expect nothing from a regional government which, once again, has shown it has no vision or concern for the priorities of the agricultural world. We hope, rather, that the parliamentary majority, in light of the statements and appeals from several of its own members, will finally find the courage and consistency to honour the commitments made.”
