Bottom-up construction is also very popular in politics in this period, not just football, and Matteo Lepore coincidentally has decided to launch a ‘Program Factory’ also to get closer to the upcoming regional elections. Not only that, Lepore wants to play the role of site manager for the post-Bonaccini era, so much so that from Thursday – first stop in Forlì – he will be on tour in various Emilia-Romagna municipalities. Officially for support for the arriving municipal elections, essentially also to spin the political network towards the changing of the guard in Viale Aldo Moro. And we always look, again, at the Prodian canon. With the Olive Tree on the bedside table and later the golden Archiginnasio given to the professor.
Mayor, is Emilia-Romagna more contestable than ever?
“Rightly so. If we were satisfied with what we have done, we would not be up to the challenge we face. It is the time for listening and courage, we would be arrogant if we gave the idea of an impossible alternation “.
Bonaccini is a candidate for the European elections, where do we start again?
“Starting from the names would be a mistake. We need to re-establish a path from the bottom, which is also entrusted to the mayors, to the local administrators. Before dividing ourselves, we must ask the Emilia-Romagna people what their problems and their needs are. I will propose to Elly Schlein and to my party a ‘Program Factory’, I am already hearing from various mayors to build a discussion for the next 10 years”.
Do you want to run for governor of Emilia-Romagna?
“No, I want to finish the mandate, but also make my contribution. It’s time we spoke in the plural. Do we want Bologna to be a solitary spaceship or do we want to make it available to everyone? Emilia-Romagna, a progressive beacon, must grow”.
In what areas?
“We need to reduce inequalities, then industry and work, transport, housing and infrastructure, healthcare and the environment.”
Are you saying that discontinuity is needed?
“No, we need a new paradigm. Errani had the ‘pact to overcome the crisis’, Bonaccini the pact ‘for work and the climate’. We need a new idea of dialogue and cooperation with new actors, with intermediate bodies. We need listen to what lies ‘under the ashes’, to the poor workers, to the precarious workers, to the unheard. The pact must be rewritten with an innovative look.”
Did Bonaccini do well or should he have finished his mandate?
“Everyone must do what they feel, we must thank Bonaccini for everything he has done for Emilia-Romagna, which has withstood all the crises. His candidacy is fundamental for the future of Europe”
Primaries for the Regionals?
“I will never say ‘no’ to primaries, but they shouldn’t be thrown away either because politics is unable to resolve its contradictions. We need to go and ask people how they are doing, we need an added value that goes far beyond names. We need to recover a common feeling, there is a lack of enthusiasm that needs to be rekindled”.
Are Sardines Served Again?
“Today tuna must go in the right direction. We must bring out all the wealth that exists, not get there through opposition. I’m thinking of the third sector, which has social issues such as housing and the environment that are now off the political radar” .
Will we vote in November?
“I hope for a postponement until the new year, we would have more time.”
Bonaccini’s Popular Energy is already organizing itself. Do we need civics in the lists?
“The Ulivo has taught us the value of openness. If I can, I ask the political class to open up to new energies, without fear. No foreclosure on allies, if we stand by common values”.
Finally, would it be up to a governor from Bologna?
“It would be up to Bologna, but the divisions of the last century no longer make sense. Let’s not start with the prize of thoroughbred horses, but with the ‘Factory of Ideas'”.
