The newly-elected governor of the Sicilian region, Raffaele Lombardo, has committed a gaffe in his drive for nuclear energy, by saying that Malta is also powered by nuclear.
“Considering the many nuclear power stations in France, Slovenia… even in Malta, just two steps away from us, we should be looking at it clearly and not come to any prejudiced conclusions,” Lombardo told newspaper La Sicilia in an interview.
“Constructing a nuclear power station in Malta is like doing it in Sicily,” Lombardo said.
The same can be said for Malta: when Italy decommissioned all nuclear energy in a popular referendum, Malta was spared the danger of nearby nuclear power stations.
Now a revival of nuclear energy is seeing drives for more power stations in Italy as well as in Libya.
Lombardo is the leader of the recently formed Movimento per l’Autonomia (Autonomy Movement), a pan-Sicilian party which forms part of the governing coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi. A minor party, it demands economic development and greater autonomy for Sicily and southern Italy.
Lombardo is promoting the creation of nuclear power stations in Sicily, by referendum. “Security, convenience and popular referendum” are his three conditions, La Sicilia has reported, before going ahead with nuclear.
He intends opening a competition for bids for thermo-nuclear plants in November. “If we explain to the people what it really means, that there are no risks because they are new-generation plants, that the system is less polluting than others energy sources, and that nuclear brings more advantages to the territory, then the referendum can pass.”
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