CATANZARO The call to politics and parties to carefully select candidates, and the invitation to the candidates themselves to pursue the common good and to concretely promote anti-mafia actions and messages. “Notice Pubblico” and “Libera” present in a press conference in Catanzaro the appeal to the candidates for the elections, especially the 2024 administrative ones, elections which in Calabria will call over a third of the Municipalities to vote and among these some particularly “sensitive” realities to the risk of pollution from the ‘Ndrangheta: an appeal launched with particular force by the two associations considering that Calabria boasts the unenviable and negative record of the largest number of local authorities dissolved due to mafia infiltration from 1991 to today.
The “Public Notice” intervention
As Pierpaolo Romani, national coordinator of “Public Notice”, presents the appeal (attached to the end of the article): «We ask citizens first of all to go and vote because abstaining can put respectable people in difficulty and benefit the mafia and the corrupt. We ask those who are elected as candidates to practice specific behaviorsfor example, already during the electoral campaign, declare where the funds supporting the electoral campaign come from and how they are used. If you are elected – he adds – set up departments, train staff, carry out cultural promotion initiatives within schools, contribute to creating a system of organized legality both from the point of view of tools and from the point of view of culture”. For Romans, accompanied by regional coordinator of “Public Notice” Giuseppe Politanò«the important thing is that citizens do not accept the logic of favor, but fight to vindicate their rights. And the important thing is that the fight between the mafias and corruption is not delegated exclusively to those wearing a toga or uniform. The mafia and corruption are a serious, real and concrete threat to the democracy and economy of our country, of Calabria, but of all of Italy and Europe, I would say. Unfortunately – underlines the coordinator of Public Notice – Calabria has the highest number of municipalities dissolved due to the mafia from 1991 to today, so here there is a theme of selection of the ruling class by the parties: Therefore we cannot accept the logic of a policy that takes everyone on board just to win. But there is also a responsibility of citizens. So the issue is to carefully select people who are not only respectable but also competent and responsible: this – continues the coordinator of “Public Notice” – is the important issue, we cannot set up bridgeheads that serve partisan interests and not collective interests”.
The intervention of “Libera”
Along the same lines Giuseppe Borrello, regional coordinator of “Libera“. «Let’s keep this initiative going – begins Borrello – at an important moment for Calabria, which unfortunately holds one of the saddest records a region can have, i.e. the highest number of municipalities dissolved due to mafia infiltration. And so it is an important initiative also considering the fact that Calabria is interested in police operations on a daily basis, of the judiciary, also has important trials and we hope that the Municipalities called to vote are up to the historical moment that Calabria is experiencing. From the candidates – continues Borrello – we ask for important commitments to assume responsibility in the management of public affairs but we also ask for a commitment from citizens to take full responsibility in the management of public affairs in monitoring the actions of administrators, avoiding the logic of delegation and the logic of the prevalence of privilege over law. It is clearly – notes the regional coordinator of Libera – a strong appeal addressed to citizens so that they can express their vote with responsibility and express a vote free from any form of conditioning”. There is also the issue of the “upstream” selection of candidates, especially in important areas such as Vibo Valentia, Corigliano Rossano and Gioia Tauro, called to vote on 8 and 9 June: «From this point of view – claims Borrello – let’s make our own a great teaching from Paolo Borsellino who said that politics and political parties must fully assume their responsibility in order to carry out a complete clean-up internally, not only of those under investigation and those convicted but also of the so-called “chattered people”, those politicians who, due to their closeness to some circles, appear to be not very credible and reliable in the management of public affairs, otherwise as Paolo Borsellino said – states the head of “Libera” Calabria – we cannot leave the fight against the mafias only to the judiciary because we run the risk of fueling confusion between innocence and honesty.” Finally, a focus on San Luca, which Paride Leporace also recently dealt with Courier of Calabriaand the risk of a lack of candidates: «Our hope – concludes Borrello – is that this is the right time to ensure that San Luca can finally have a mayor, a city council. Clearly Saint Luke is a symbol and therefore it is important that there is high attention also from politicians at a national level, however it would be even more important if this desire for change, for redemption, started from the citizens of San Luca”. This is our hope. The mayor of Catanzaro, Nicola Fiorita, also brought his greetings to the press conference. (a. cant.)
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