Madam President, honourable colleagues, housing is the foundation of rights. Without a home, everything else becomes fragile and precarious: security, work, health, education, and even people’s dignity. Yet today, in Europe — and certainly in Italy — too many people do not have a home; too many families struggle every month to pay their rent or mortgage; too many workers cannot afford to live in the cities where they work.
The housing crisis is now plain for all to see, and it provokes anger as well as shame. We live in wealthy and advanced societies: how is it possible that we cannot even guarantee decent housing for everyone? This happens when economic interests are placed before people’s needs, when the market is left without limits.
Public authorities, if they are to retain any meaning for citizens, must intervene. The solutions exist, but they require political will: investing public resources and taxing large fortunes.
We call for a major public housing plan, limits on short-term tourist rentals, and measures to tackle vacant homes and property speculation.