“Out with Conte from the procession, go with Salvini who ruined the city, go with Bucci, Rixi and Toti, go ahead you piece of s…”. It’s the phrase one protester directed at Giuseppe Conte, M5S leader, who decided to participate in the Genoa procession organized by various citizen committees. Words accompanied by a couple of smoke bombs and the chorus “Conte out of the procession” repeated by a couple of dozen young people queuing up at the demonstration that crossed the Ligurian capital. Conte’s presence, in an apolitical procession, raised more than one discontent and the distance – even physical – between the demonstrators and Conte widened.
“Demonstrations of protest and dissent, if expressed in a peaceful manner, should not worry us. In our country I want a democratic, lively, true, healthy debate,” Conte said to those who asked him if he is worried about the growing protests. “I believe,” he added on the sidelines of the march, “that resignation is worse, staying at home, isolated, indifferent. Of course, if the protest means preventing others from speaking, participating or even degenerates into violence, it must be firmly condemned.”
“The decision to come to Liguria had already been taken – he explained – I learned about this spontaneous demonstration by the committees, the associations that want the protection of health and the environment which are our issues, I read about the appeal to the political forces and as a political force that has been committed to these issues for some time, we participated by listening to the healthy part of the population. Listening is not just today, but always.”
“A dozen or so guys from Potere al Popolo wanted to stop us from following the procession, they wanted to stop us from listening, but we have always been fighting on these issues – legality, transparency and the fight against corruption. We are insulted by the right and left, it is not a tear gas canister that can prevent us from listening to the healthy part of the populationof the civic forces and associations that say with us enough of this malpractice and want to turn the page to strengthen the national health system, environmental protection and labor rights”, he concluded.
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