«The Democratic Party of Viareggio is different». Thus begins the long post with which the Mayor of Viareggio Giorgio Del Ghingaro jokes about the Democratic Partyattacking him for his failure to participate – on Thursday – in an initiative held in the city council hall, on the occasion of the celebrations for April 25th. To which the three dem councilors were not present and the other opposition representatives of the centre-right parties, with the presence – for the minority – of only the “civic” Tiziano Nicoletti.
«And yet – continues the mayor – on Thursday the councilors of the Democratic Party of Viareggio, together with those of the League and Brothers of Italy, in the name of no one knows exactly what idea, did not show up for the celebrations in the City Council. Those benches remained desolately empty, not only in front of the mayor, the councilors and councilors present whom I thank, but also in front of the symbols of the ANPI, the national and European flags, which was born on 25 April. And to the citizens who attended, who probably feel that they are, and should have, been represented in part.”
«Empty in front of the school children – concludes Del Ghingaro – who are the future and who spoke about their research with cheeks flushed with the emotion of speaking in an institutional forum. Those councilors on Thursday, with their absence, they made noise because they betrayed memory. A memory that is collective but of which the Democratic Party, more than others, professes to be the heir and witness.”
The PD’s response
The reply from the Viareggio Democratic Party was immediate: «The mayor – we read in a note – continues to mystify reality to create a case on an important day like April 25th. And he does it with the sole purpose of defaming those who don’t think like him. We received a notice of the initiative in which the mayor was present only on April 24th and with a certified e-mail the group leader informed that he had a previous family commitment. And that for this reason he would not have been able to attend the City Council. Explaining, however, at the same time that he would take part, as he later did, in the usual celebrations in Largo Risorgimento, with the laying of the crown at the foot of the Resistance monument.”
«The mayor knows – continues the Democratic Party – that Aren’t the April 25th celebrations held only in his presence? No revolts among the members, no absences. For us, April 25th was a wonderful day of celebration throughout Versilia where numerous members and citizens took part in initiatives that were held in Viareggio, Camaiore, Stazzema and even outside the region, in Milan.” «April 25 – concludes the note from the Viareggio Democrats – also celebrates the freedom to celebrate and remember it where and how you want, with all due respect to those who are looking for constant clashes and visibility».
And the League also responds
The. also intervenes on the issue leader of the League Alessandro Santini: «We remember – he writes – that it was not a convened municipal council and that only 5 majority councilors were present. To be honest, let’s tell this story well. The League had delegated participation in the initiative to me: on Thursday morning a commitment came up and I notified the Prime Minister – who was also absent – who told me that there were no problems in this regard. The truth is that this year the initiative was organized badly, at the last minute and without the appropriate involvement of all the council groups.”
