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December 31, 2020 "These are days in which anguish and hope coexist". Thus begins the end-of-year message to the Italians from the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who at this end of 2020 could not fail to take into account the Covid-19 pandemic, a pandemic that "puts our lives at risk, hurts our way of live".
Italy and the world injured by Covid-19
"The world has been hit hard, everywhere. Italy has also paid a very high price," says Mattarella.
"Turning to you, I start from here: from the need to remember what we have experienced in this year together. Without closing our eyes to reality. The pandemic has dug deep furrows in our lives, in ours. Society. It has exacerbated the fragility of the past. It has aggravated old inequalities; and it has generated new ones. All of this has had severe consequences, social and economic. We have lost jobs. Women and young people have been particularly penalized. People are. with disabilities. Many companies fear for their future. A large group of self-employed workers, and precarious workers, have seen their income drop to zero, or abruptly drop. In the common difficulty some sectors have suffered more than others ".
Signs of hope
However, the head of state underlines: "At the same time, important signs have emerged that encourage concrete hope. So that fear does not prevail; and so that worries can be transformed into the energy needed to rebuild; to start over again" .
Vaccinating is a choice of responsibility and a duty
Then he remembers: "Never has a vaccine been made in such a short time. The European Union has never taken on such an important task for its citizens. Science offers us the weapon. stronger; prevailing over ignorance and prejudices. Now everyone, and everywhere - without distinction - must be allowed to get vaccinated, free of charge: because it is right; and because it is necessary for common safety. Getting vaccinated is a choice of responsibility; a duty. All the more so for those who work in contact with the sick and the most fragile people. Faced with a disease, so highly contagious, which causes so many deaths, it is necessary to protect one's health, and it is necessary to protect that of others: family members, friends , colleagues. I will get vaccinated as soon as possible. After the categories which, being at higher risk, must take precedence ", assures the President of the Republic.
We need the responsibility of all
"We are about to undertake a great task on the health and economic fronts.
All this calls, and urges, even more, the responsibility of the institutions above all; of the economic forces; of the social bodies. We. Seriousness, collaboration, and also a sense of duty are necessary to protect ourselves and to start afresh. We change what needs to be changed, putting ourselves back, courageously, into the game. We owe it to ourselves; we owe it to the younger generations. our own part. The pandemic has made us rediscover, and understand, how much we are linked to others; how much each of us depends on others. As we have seen, solidarity has once again shown itself to be the necessary basis of coexistence and society. Solidarity, international. Solidarity in Europe. Solidarity within our communities ".
2021 year of the recovery, no distractions are allowed
"2021 must be the year of the defeat of the virus and the first of the recovery. A year, in which, each of us, is also called to the commitment to reciprocate what has been received, with free gestures; often by strangers. By people who have placed their very life at stake for ours; as has happened with many doctors and health workers. The trust we need is built like this: the responsibilities of the institutions are connected with the feelings of the people. The pandemic has accentuated the limits and delays in our country. There have certainly also been errors in facing a sudden and unknown reality. But we have had the ability to react. Society has had to slow down; but it has not stopped. We are not at the mercy of events. Now, we must prepare for the future. No distractions are allowed. Time must not be wasted. Energy, energy, and opportunities should not be wasted in pursuit of illusory advantages. d
i part.
This is what citizens expect.
Call for unity
The head of state therefore launches an appeal for unity.
"The challenge faced by those who hold managerial roles, in various fields, and to all of us calls for the unity, moral and civil, of the Italians. It is not a question of canceling the diversity of ideas, roles, interests, but of to achieve that basic convergence which has allowed our country to overcome historical moments of great, and sometimes dramatic, difficulties. Italy has what it takes to succeed in this enterprise ".
Thanks to the Italians for the sacrifices made, do not let your guard down
"Finally, I would like to acknowledge, to all of you - with a particularly intense thanks - for the sacrifices made in recent months with a sense of responsibility. the importance of maintaining the recommended precautions, until the vaccination campaign has definitively defeated the pandemic.
The restart at the center of the last year of the presidential term
Dear fellow citizens, and dear fellow citizens, what begins will be my last year as President of the Republic.
It will coincide with the first year to be dedicated to the recovery of our country's economic and social life.
The restart will be at the center of this last part of my mandate.
It will be a year of intense work.
We have the resources to make it.
Best wishes, Happy New Year, to all of you! "