I have my doubts as well. This is a country that can barely get elevators and escalators to function properly in subway stations. If they can get something this complex to operate correctly, it will be an act of God.
I'd say that God (if he exists) has been very good to Italy up til now, so here's hoping that his good acts will continue.
Flood records are being broken all over the world, from New Orleans to Japan, so this is not only Italy's malfunctioning - developed Western nations are having to re-think their preparedness in areas that up until now were taken more or less for granted. I'm sure that the Venice MOSE (flood control) project was meticulously planned and researched, and that professional engineering considerations, combined with economic constraints, were what influenced the final decision.
The fact that it's far behind the planned schedule and was also plagued by corrupt stages in the execution, goes to show that the Venetians and the Italian gov't, like most of the governments in the world, are still in denial of the full implications of what scientists have been telling us, and what we are starting to witness every year : things are changing for the worse in global climate and ecology, in ways that have not been experienced, and which cannot even be predicted well.
Perhaps the only nation that is in the right mindset to fully grasp what it means to live under the threat of severe and constant flooding, and have proven that they also implementing this awareness on all fronts, are the Dutch.
If there will be no significant change in today's global routines, the next 50-100 years will be completely different from the preceding ones, in terms of climate stability.
www.theguardian.com
