Gervasini: “We must defend the dignity of the old Wolf”

“Hunger comes and goes, but once dignity is lost, it will never return.” The sorrowful appeal, made on Sunday morning by the Chairperson, Pasquale Gervasini, at the 67^th Congress of the General Assembly of the General Confederation of Italian Agriculture, in Varese, is encapsulated in this line from the film, “Siberian Education”, by Gabriele Salvatores. The Chairman began his speech with a clip from the film, where an old wolf is trying to defend its dignity, without swapping it for a bowl of food.

This was a strong and unusual “move”, that aimed to instil in the minds of those present what, for Gervasini, is central to the discussion on the future of agriculture: the dignity of a sector that has come this far thanks to personal sacrifices and to a strong system of values. “In our province, in these difficult years, the sector has essentially held out, but at the cost of the personal resources of individuals. Doing your utmost, being ready to make sacrifices, believing in your business, these are all examples of the dignity we don’t want to lose.” But now, agriculture has reached its limit, as the increase in redundancies confirms, and it is paying the price for the lack of real economic policies that address competition.

The response to the political class that has led the country over the last few years, and that has shown “little interest in the sector” must, in the opinion of Gervasini, be more politics, but the good type, “Because it’s only by giving strength to delegations, that social organisations manage to defend their interests, which must then be a part of the political mediation. I’m not talking about consultations, but about real, honest, excellent and fair politics. So, of ideals.”

Gervasini ended his speech with a quote from the Chairperson of the Italian Manufacturers’ Associations, Giorgio Squinzi: “Give us a normal country, and we’ll show you what we can really do.”