A resigned fury: an anger that rises and is then tamed. It is the summary of the agitated meeting of the group of Pd in the Region: three hours of discussion to review the decisions of Michele Emiliano on the appointment of the three new councillors. The Democratic Party doesn’t like anything: it contests the choices but above all it stigmatizes the governor’s method. He made appointments without consulting the territories, without listening to the group, without questioning the party (in Bari and Rome). To the point that one of the councilors goes so far as to say that «in these conditions we might as well close the legislature and go home». An angry phrase. However, the meeting ended in the opposite direction: with a reminder from the regional secretary De Santis to a sense of responsibility. We have to face the June elections and before that reject the centre-right’s motion of no confidence. Which, if approved, would lead to Emiliano’s resignation and, indeed, the dissolution of the Council. The Democratic Party will ask the other majority partners to comply with the opposition’s request and put the motion up for discussion on 7 May. “And that day – says one of the Dem councilors – we will be aligned and covered: we will vote unitedly and the motion will be rejected”.
During the meeting, critical voices were raised, with different accents and arguments: some attacked Emiliano, some attacked the Democratic Party, some attacked both. The intervention was very harsh Filippo Caracciolo, forced in recent days to resign as group leader after having been sent to trial a few months ago. “The only one who paid was me,” he says. He attacks the “inappropriate intervention” of the M5S, which left the majority after the Bari investigations: a decision that sucked the Democratic Party into the same justicialist logic. «The Apulian Democratic Party had never given up on keeping the bar of legality high. But until now he had been able to do it with maturity and balance.” Now, however, non-guaranteed inputs are arriving from Rome. Caracciolo, originally from Bat, contests the appointment as councilor of Debora Ciliento: her countrywoman, close to her rival Francesco Boccia. But it’s not just Ciliento in the crosshairs. Criticisms have arrived, this time from the people of Salento, starting with Donato Metalloto the indication of Viviana Matrangola, originally from Nardò. The Democratic Party of Lecce considers her a foreign body to the party and to the left, if anything closer to the mayor of Nardò, the right-wing Pippi Mellone.
The toastie Maurizio Bruno he pointed to the political framework that emerged from the reshuffle. The summary: we had an ally, Italian left, and we no longer have it due to the defenestration of former councilor Maraschio; We don’t know if the 5 Stars will return with us; with civics we don’t know “where we’ll end up” due to excessive compliance towards them. “Nice result.” And then in Brindisi “never any assignments”, says Bruno, who expected compensation for an often neglected province. Pier Luigi Lopalco he sums it up like this: «Emiliano loves the 5 Stars, very much the civics, he doesn’t like the Democratic Party at all». Translated: dems always get sacrificed. Lucia Parchitelli disputes Emiliano’s method: he made the new appointment just as the group was meeting, without informing anyone. «Yet we are 13 councillors, half the majority». Everyone observed that it was a small reshuffle, nothing like what was expected. «More could have been done – comments group leader Paolo Campo – Let’s take note of the decisions and move forward». The motion of no confidence will be rejected, everyone predicts this. However, many would like a clear line from the national party. It is unlikely, however, that it will now arrive on the eve of the elections.
The Bari shock
Another shock, for other reasons, comes from Bari. Nicola Biancofiore, secretary of the Carrassi-Poggiofranco club, has resigned. Biancofiore (Schlein area) remains in the Democratic Party, but leaves the leadership of the club. The cause is to be found in his choice to support the mayoral candidate in the municipal elections Michele Laforgia and not Vito Leccese (indicated by the dems). «My resignation – he states – has the flavor of resistance, freedom and courage». In recent days, the city secretary Gianfranco Todaro had asked all the leaders of Bari to run on the PD list to «confirm and, if possible, surpass the result achieved 5 years ago: i.e. 16.9%. Faced with this request, Biancofiore decided to resign.” In recent days, Titti De Simone, also a supporter of Laforgia, had left the presidency of the city assembly. Biancofiore and De Simone are among the 5 PDs who abstained in the vote that confirmed Leccese’s race.
