As people say insist that "this isn& #39;t the time to get political", it& #39;s worth remembering that this was the line of the centrist Italian government after the Vajont Dam disaster in 1963, which killed c.2,000 people.

The government and power company bosses had insisted there were no issues with the dam/reservoir, despite warnings that disaster was inevitable from workers, engineers, geologists and locals. They sued newspapers who tried to report on issues.

After the tragedy, the government and supportive press said it was an & #39;act of God& #39; and accused communists of & #39;political profiteering& #39;. They then manipulated disaster relief to the benefit of large businesses in the region.

Disaster is always political, and there is no act more political than telling someone something is & #39;beyond politics& #39;. Being & #39;beyond politics& #39; always benefits the current order.