Karl Lauterbach, the German health minister, chose to spend his summer vacation in Italy. A well-documented journey on his social networks, in which the epidemiologist doctor -candidate in the last elections with Olaf Scholz’s SPD- had to deal above all with one problem: the heat. “If things continue like this, these vacation destinations will have no long-term future. Climate change is destroying southern Europe. An era is coming to an end,” Lauterbach wrote on July 13 while traveling from Bologna to Tuscany. A few days later, the German minister visits the Basilica of San Francesco in Siena. “Beautiful medieval building, but also a cold room. Churches must be open during heat waves during the day and offer protection, ”writes the minister on his Twitter profile. On July 18 Lauterbach was to leave for Rome. A shift that he decided to postpone for the following days precisely because of the temperatures above 40 degrees. Once he arrives in the capital, the German minister finally finds a temperature more to his liking. “36 degrees, a little windy. It’s okay,” he writes, posting a selfie in front of the Trevi Fountain.
Santanche’s response
The Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, responded to her vacation in Italy, ruined by the high temperatures last week. “I thank the German Health Minister for choosing Italy as a tourist destination, which has always been his compatriots’ favorite holiday destination, and of course we look forward to welcoming him again in the future,” the minister said. Then the answer about the ever-higher temperatures, which according to Lauterbach are undermining the future of Italian tourism. “We are aware -responds Santanchè- of the ongoing climate change, which, I remind you, affects not only southern Europe but the entire planet, so much so that the strategic tourism plan places sustainability as one of the central assets and an essential tool for the development and growth of the sector. A strategy that will allow us to make the Italian tourist offer welcoming and sustainable 365 days a year.”
Photo credits: TWITTER | A photo posted by German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
