POTENZA – «The possible city». This is what Francesco Giuzio, outgoing city councilor and mayoral candidate in Potenza for the “Possible Basilicata” list, wants.
Councilor Giuzio, you are the novelty among the centre-left candidates in a fragmented alliance. Why the application?
«It was a last-minute candidacy only because we tried in every way to maintain the unity of the progressive front which, however, is divided by personalism and the parties’ refusal to be parties. The fact that the PD symbol does not appear during an electoral campaign in a capital says a lot about the state of health of the centre-left. We tried in every way to find unity, even involving the lawyer Pignatari, but there was no willingness from the parties.”
You are romantically linked to an anti-mafia prosecutor. Did you agree with her choice?
«For reasons of opportunity we don’t talk about work. We are independent in this respect and it is right that we should be so given the delicate nature of the roles we play. Consequently, each of us follows our own professional path.”
You are an outgoing city councilor. Guarente boasts 100 million euros in works started and to be started. What hasn’t been done in your opinion?
«We believe that it is not mandatory, every 5 years, to start from a “clean slate”. We believe this is bad for the city. What we find already started, approved, we will carry forward. For the rest, I believe that the city has not noticed these investments because our city has become less liveable, uglier and certainly more of an enemy to the citizen. It is clear that the Pnrr has given new life to development. However, the problem is always the same: it is understanding how we want to develop this city.”
Among the points of his program is the establishment of the extraordinary commissioner of Bucaletto. Why?
«Because since 1980 a solution to an emergency has become an emergency. We believe that we cannot continue to follow ordinary paths and achieve extraordinary results, that’s why a commissioner. It’s not that we consider ourselves incapable, but we have a duty to hurry up as they ask us in Bucaletto. So streamline the procedures, streamline the bureaucracy and try to arrive at the final vision of a neighborhood that must be reintegrated within the city.”
What are the three projects you intend to implement in the first hundred days if you were to be elected mayor?
«Bucaletto and the concrete resolution of this problem with an interlocution also with the factories that occupy that industrial area. The second proposal is the solution to the Macchia Giocoli-Murate issue, a problem faced by 140 families, and the third issue is that of closing the city to extra-urban buses which would give relief to Potenza’s traffic system and the quality of life of its citizens.”
There is only one list in support of him. Are you counting on the split vote to get to the runoff?
«I have a good list to back it up. Already five years ago we had fewer candidates, we reached the run-off and our party was the most voted in the city. We believe we represent the only valid alternative to a break with the past.”
After June 9th, what kind of center-left will there be in Potenza?
«It will be important to regroup because in the event of a run-off we have the duty to try all possible avenues to try to achieve a positive result. Then we will have to start again to re-establish this progressive camp. We have the numbers and the skills to be a cornerstone of this future center-left.”
