The collapse of a bridge section in Genoa has raised questions about road privatization

The collapse of a bridge section in Genoa, which resulted in the deaths of at least 43 people, has raised questions about inadequate infrastructure investment in Italy and its deteriorating roads and bridges—and about road privatization, ‘public-private partnerships’ and long-term concessions. Elisa Moretti, an activist for Potere al Popolo (Power to the People), writes “the Genoa bridge collapse is Italy’s Grenfell—and the government is too busy scapegoating migrants to get to the bottom of why it happened. (…) However, it is hard to see how failings will be prevented in the future unless the logic of privatization is challenged. Italy has a history of poor infrastructure, bad urban planning and weak regulation, but privatization means that when disasters such as the collapse of Morandi Bridge happen, blame can simply be laid with the contractor and the problem of broader reform avoided.”