Warm weather and a packed room last night at the debate between the candidates for mayor of Cesena at Ridotto Palaceorganized by our newspaper and moderated by the director Francesco Zanotti. The diocesan office for social and labor problems, directed by, collaborated in the event Marco Castagnoli, present at the speakers’ table, and the one for social communications. Eighth face-to-face involving the outgoing mayor Enzo Lattuca (centre-left), Marco Casali (centre-right) e Marco Giangrandi (Cesena is us and civic and centrist lists). He joined them for the first time Paolo Sensini, from the list “For Peace and the common good. Cesena alive and united”.
The first and dutiful theme proposed to the candidates is that offlood. For Casali “the necessary money allocated by government I’m a certainty. There are procedural problems, as has happened with other disasters. Let’s not forget that forty years of environmentalist vision of local politics has brought us into this situation.”
Giangrandi he underlined that “politics has not been capable of unity of purpose. Without volunteers Cesena would not have made it. A year has passed, but planning for the safety of the area is poor. Urgent works are needed”.
For Lettuce, one year after the flood, “the pain and suffering remain. We are faced with climatic phenomena different from the past. We must protect the presence of man in the environment in a different way.” On the topic, the mayor then highlighted delays and shortcomings of the Government.
Sensini has denied climate change, branding it as ideology: “The problem is administrative. The Region has responsibilities: it has given back to the State 55.2 million euros for land maintenance. It is the abandonment of land that leads to disasters.”
Speakers, audience and photographers (photo: Sandra and Urbano photographers, Cesena)
Many topics were addressed during the evening. Come on young For Giangrandi “the Municipality only does marketing”. For the elderly, the “current model is not sustainable. You need one consult with local social cooperatives to build a co-planning”. Regarding the future, Giangrandi notes the need for “a new neighborhood where the hospital will be built” and a “focus on the Hippodrome area which is now supported only thanks to Bingo”.
Casali he underlined that “during the election campaign the centre-right is the only one talking about family. Certain large and fluid fields struggle to find a meeting point on the values. We are the only ones to address the issue of difficult pregnancies”. On culture, Casali invited us to rethink the Malatesta as a “library where scientific research is carried out, to attract quality tourism”. Focus also on safety: “For the station we don’t need flashy projects, but constant supervision”. In case of victory he promised to “review the Municipality’s relations with Hera”.
Lettuce rejected many criticisms of the senders: “He who only criticizes without making constructive proposals is opposition candidate”. Hence the list of some interventions: “Sugli rents we have approved seven lines of intervention. For families we have increased the nest places, strengthened summer centers, and made nursery school free for everyone.” Space also for Cesena co-capital: “It will allow us to have more police forces in the city.”
Sensini he invited us to “come out of the building” to meet someone “agonized realities” and a “plastered city that has not been able to turn its beauties into a driving force”. For the candidate “le craft activities have disappeared and there is too much focus onimmigration to support the economy. Those who want to study must be encouraged, but the degree must not be a dogma.”
The audience warms up (photo: Sandra and Urbano photographers, Cesena)
Tempers flared at the end of the evening when, addressing the issue of security, Sensini, organizer at local and national level of the “No fear day”, he spoke of a city closed and controlled by cameras and recalled the pandemic. “I didn’t experience the fascism – he said -. The only time I experienced limitations on freedoms was in the Covid years and some caveats are being discovered about vaccines.”
Mayor Lattuca’s response was annoyed: “I’m proud of how we dealt with the pandemic. I am grateful to doctors, health workers and vaccines because we have had fewer deaths. We must not believe the deniers. We’re not even interested in comparison”. From the audience, several Sensini supporters vehemently reminded Lattuca that he was the “mayor of all” and to pay more respect to the opinions of others. Minutes of turmoil followed.
The evening opened with director Zanotti That brought calm by recalling the style of dialogue and listening with which the evening was planned, on the initiative of Corriere Cesenate. Finally, he launched a good-natured invitation, collected among the dozens and dozens of messages received from the public, to improve theroom audio, after complaints from many present. A more heated request also came from Beppe Rotelle (born Giuseppe D’Ursi), on the list with Marco Giangrandi, who reported for the umpteenth time that the lift of the Palazzo del Ridotto it is not suitable for people in wheelchairsthen calling i Fire fighters to get help down.
In the Corriere Cesenate, which will be published on Thursday 30 May, an extensive report will be dedicated to the evening discussion between the four candidates for the office of mayor.
*** The photo gallery of Sandra and Urbano photographers (Cesena) will follow ***
