It was a repetition of arguments and counterarguments heard in City Council over the past five years. With the difference that while the council work is followed on average by 11/15 people remotely and by a few people in physical presence, listening for the first time in direct comparison to the three candidates for mayor in a Loria auditorium unfortunately too narrow to accommodate the he event promoted by Carpi 5.9, there were around 250 people, occupying all 140 seats, but also crowded along the walls, in the atrium and also outdoors. An authentic crowd, including the respective claques of the electoral committees, characterized by a civil and vibrant tension almost like that of a fan, with repeated applause from time to time reserved for Annalisa Arletti (center right), Riccardo Righi (center left) e Monica Medici (civic lists) and some shouts of approval or disapproval. The referee of the fight, a little hampered only by the rigid playing time, was the good reporter Maria Silvia Cabri who brought the questions in good order for what at the beginning seemed like an overly agreed-upon performance, but then gradually heated up, when the round of replies began which finally allowed blades to cross. follows
On what topics? Meanwhile, on the explanation of their respective slogans: “a new story” for Arletti, to speak of a different future hoped for by those who do not recognize themselves in today’s Carpi; “city of longevity” for Medici, meaning a city where everyone is well and which aims for well-being, after so much energy spent on development; “Carpi in colour”, for Righi, who thus wants to say that the city is its people, with its variety, and that others can be added to the existing colors, such as the green of safety, the yellow of works and the electric blue of dynamism. The rest was a question of asking the candidates and allowing them to respond in terms of initiatives for young people (young people should be listened to, as Arletti says? Or searched and found, as Righi claims? Or helped as Medici says?), care of the city (small maintenance with a municipal team is a priority for ordinary maintenance according to Medici; efficiency and timeliness in interventions, agreed Righi, without forgetting the limits placed on public works by the budget and procurement code; not only painted cycle paths and parking lots and only after reviving the center can it be closed to cars, argued Arletti) . The discussion took a turn for the worse when, debating health and health, Arletti complained that for twenty years we have been discussing a hospital that has not yet been seen and Righi objected that a Deputy Minister of his party passed through Carpi without dignifying of a visit to the Mayor to explain where things stand regarding the financing of the Ministry, to which Arletti, resentful, replied that the Ministry concerned is not that of Infrastructure, represented by the Deputy Minister in question, but rather that of Health. Small ripples on a sea, if not very calm, then just a little agitated by animosity, however always contained within the limits of education +. Like when we talked about security and we saw that Arletti’s emphasis was on control and repression and that of Righi, instead, on the strengthening, yes of the police force, but also of everything that can make the city more livable, less exposed to decay, animated in the streets and parks, finding a shore in the city of well-being desired by Medici, who was also convinced first of all of the certainty of punishment. Things were also heartfelt and resented regarding sport, where Arletti and Medici did not spare the criticism of the Municipality on the condition of the facilities, starting with the gyms, recognized by Righi who however relaunched with the multi-purpose gym and another large structure. After a quick exchange on cricket (“You didn’t mention it after talking about it in the newspapers” Arletti said to Righi; “Look, cricket is also a part of the city of tomorrow, there’s no use ignoring it”, Righi replied) and a rather lively one on urban planning (here Righi, faced with the attacks of the two rivals, distanced himself from an inherited Prg, recalling the limits of the Municipality’s action if it wants to stay within the law), the most heated tones of the evening were reserved to the Aimag issue. The arguments are the well-known ones: Arletti and Medici are united in criticizing the breakdown of the shareholder agreement with the consequent forceful entry of Hera into the governance of Aimag and in pointing out Alberto Bellelli as the main person responsible for what happened, having placed to the interests of the citizens and that of the party (Arletti also said “personal”, making the audience roar, then asking, turning to Righi, “Can you guarantee us that as mayor you will eliminate the current Board of Directors?”). in this long pre-election phase and after he had already said it during the primaries, Righi reiterated that it is he who is running for office, not Bellelli, also pledging to defend public control of the company, to mend relations with the Bassa and to renew the shareholder agreement.
During the evening we clearly saw the attempt of the two candidates to force Righi more and more into the corner of the defense of the current Administration, Medici being concrete, Arletti with studied melodious ways (“You mustn’t get nervous”, addressed to Righi) and the councilor reporting to the data and the precise circumstances uninformed digressions of the two rivals (as in the case of Medici who claimed that the new gym should be attributed to the CR Carpi Foundation, which only co-financed the work, integrating the Pnrr funds) . There were no winners or losers in a ring that wasn’t exactly a ring after all. Only the eternal rekindling of positions that the three have thrown at each other dozens of times in the last five years, simply more heated by the setting of a truly warm and impressive audience for this type of event.
