Within Italia Viva the split at the local level is increasingly evident. In fact, several members and supporters did not appreciate the choice of former head physician Claudio Vicini to support the outgoing mayor Gian Luca Zattini as advisor on health issues. Also in the sights of the Renzians is the decision to “get on the Zattinian bandwagon with an equal leap from one side of the political spectrum to the other without having any ethical or moral problems” by the former parliamentarian Marco Di Maio, present at the presentation of the agreement in the headquarters of the “La Civica-Forlì Cambia” list but which, however, has always been called off on several occasions. «Claudio Vicini’s rapprochement with the outgoing mayor supported by a centre-right coalition surprises us a bit – say the disappointed Renzians -. Politically we had met and supported him during the 2020 electoral campaign when he was the leading candidate in the “Bonaccini Presidente” civic list. Even his unwillingness to run for mayor with the center-left motivated as a lack of skills and characteristics suitable for covering the role, had convinced us, making us appreciate his respect towards the institutions. In a race that sees Gian Luca Zattini and Graziano Rinaldini we would have expected a neutral and above-board position.” The presence, however, of Marco Di Maio does not surprise those disappointed with Italia Viva, especially after the party’s choice to support Zattini himself and which saw some members join the RinnoviAmo Forlì list in support of Graziano Rinaldini. «The mayor honored Marco Di Maio as his advisor and precious friend, unfortunately confirming what we had feared for some time. To definitively clarify the political story of Italia Viva Forlì and the influence that the former deputy has always had on it, we need to start from the 2022 policies after the success of the Third Pole. We asked that a new phase be opened immediately with a table that brought together Italia Viva, Azione and all the forces that recognized themselves in that project. We also had the right and probably winning candidate: Marco Di Maio himself who, however, always refused all our requests for commitment in this sense. But the truth was another, the process of building the Third Forlì Polo was of no interest and a serious and transparent debate was never held with members and supporters to decide the future of the Forlì party, only to then lower support from above to Zattini”. Disappointment also emerged on social media from his former comrades in the Democratic Party, who had already “forgiven” him for having moved to Italia Viva. «I have not been involved in politics since October 2022, I have no political roles and I do not aspire to have any – clarifies Marco Di Maio -. That he is a friend of Zattini has been known and public for over ten years; Vicini has been linked to my family for decades and together we beat every corner of the province in 2020 when he was a candidate for the Regionals. It’s just a personal attack. A gratuitous malice that I no longer tolerate, because it affects my family deeply. Made up of respectable people, who live from their work and do not take on silenced or opaque attitudes. Let’s do politics with respect.”
