The Genoa bridge collapse is also the result of privatization and austerity

Writing in Jacobin, David Broder exposes the long history of corporate and political corruption, austerity mania and cover-ups that have eroded Italy’s privately-managed public infrastructure. “The bulk of Italy’s road infrastructure dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, including the Ponte Morandi. Since 1999, when it was sold off by Massimo d’Alema’s center-left government, the motorway network has been under the control of private interests. This was an act of asset stripping, as well as a reflection of the cult of ‘public-private partnerships’ so dear to Tony Blair–era European social democracy. As Five Star (M5S) leader Luigi di Maio himself pointed out after Tuesday’s disaster, the deal resulted in Italy having among the highest road tolls in Europe, managed by cost-cutting firms who pay low taxes in Luxembourg.”