The politicization of public–private partnerships following a mega-project disaster: the case of the Morandi Bridge Collapse

Abstract

Drawing on the collapse of Morandi bridge (Genoa, Italy) exemplar and unique case and by applying a content analysis to the declarations made by politicians in the subsequent months after the tragedy, the paper highlights how longstanding debates about the relative merits of concessions vis a vis direct public operations can become the terrain of intense political contestation in the wake of a public tragedy. In particular, it shows how PPPs predicated on transferring risks to the partner best able to manage them create opportunities for blame shifting by politicians, bureaucracies and firms when failures occur.