Never before have they been more so in these 2024 European elections many people from Messina are on the field with leading roles and equally high ambitions. For the first time in many years the city of the Strait has the possibility of having at least one MEP and it follows that the weight of the Messina polls will also be felt in the final balance.
THE CHARGE OF THE MESSINIANS
Let’s start with the candidates. At the top of the list is Cateno De Luca, leader of the South calls North who is attempting a coup at national level at the helm of the Freedom list. Then, there is Giuseppe Antoci, former president of the Nebrodi Park which the Conte himself wanted to be the leader in the Sicily-Sardinia constituency. In the League there is the senator Nino Germanà who is preparing to take on the role of regional secretary of the party e Francesca Reitano (former councilor of Acquedolci). At Fratelli d’Italia he is the regional councilor for Tourism, Sport and Entertainment Elvira Amata to compete with the European polls. Forza Italia is focusing on the former regional councilor and now Ars deputy and mayor of Rocca di Caprileone Bernadette Grasso. The Democratic Party has sided with the former parliamentarian Maria Flavia Stamp (for which it is the second candidacy for the European elections). United States of Europe is aiming for Francesco Calanna (former regional deputy and former ESA commissioner), while Azione bet on Sonia Alfano (who has already been in Brussels, elected in 2009 with Italia dei Valori). The former national deputy entered the field with Alternativa Popolare Massimo Romagnolithe former municipal councilor of Messina is running with Pace Terra e Dignità Nino Mantineo while in the Alleanza Verdi Sinistra Italiana there is the no pontista Giuliana Fiertler.
The names in the field are a sign of how much the parties are paying more and more attention to the city of the Strait. Each of them is playing a game that also looks beyond the polls of 8 and 9 June and for each there are different expectations (and standards).
DE LUCA’S TEST
Those who bet big on the European Championships are Cateno De Luca which has put together a list with just under 20 movements and is aiming for the national party. But by the same admission of the leader of the South calls the North the polls this weekend are a referendum in view of the 2027 regional elections (HERE). If they meet his expectations (the 20% threshold on the island) he is ready to reiterate a Pd and 5stelle that he is the presidential candidate against the center right in 2027 HERE, “otherwise I’ll go back to Fiumedinisi”. For De Luca, the results are also a test in “his” Messina, a province that has seen electoral consensus grow exponentially from 2018 onwards. It is no coincidence that from the hospital bed where he was admitted due to an illness, he first launched the diktat to Mayor Basile (HERE) “present letters of resignation then we will decide”then in the press conference he indicated the numbers to be achieved “60 thousand votes in Messina, 150 thousand between Messina and the province”. Beyond the numbers, the mayor of Taormina sees in the polls a “mid-term test” to decide whether heads will roll or not. To arrive in Brussels De Luca will have to exceed the 4% threshold at a national level.
THE ANTOCI CHALLENGE
He is a Messina native who has a great chance of landing in Brussels Giuseppe Antoci that Conte himself wanted as the leader of the M5S (HERE). The former president of the Nebrodi Park, whose name is linked to the legality protocol and to the battles against the grazing mafia, is among the favorites for the election. And there are already those who are also looking at Antoci in this regard Regionals 2027.
GERMANA’ THE MAN OF THE BRIDGE
In the center right the League he bet “about the man from the Bridge”the senator Nino Germanà, who is vice president of the group at Palazzo Madama and who has been fighting for the realization of the work for years (HERE). Minister Salvini, who was in Messina in recent days, is counting a lot on the senator who among other things could be the next regional secretary of the party (currently entrusted to commissioner Claudio Durigon). Germanà is also playing another match, the one for the leadership of the center right in Messina to build an alternative to the De Luca group (HERE). It is no coincidence that in recent weeks the heat of the conflict with Mayor Basile has risen (HERE).
THE RACE OF ELVIRA AMATA
A strong candidacy is also that of the regional councilor for Tourism, Sport and Entertainment Elvira Amata. For her, in a list like that of FdI which looks at 26% at a national level, it is important to verify the presence in the territory which has rewarded it in the last two legislatures.
BERNADETTE GRASSO ON THE FIELD
He doesn’t define it as a service candidacy but as a real race for the European elections Bernadette Grasso. For the regional deputy and former regional councilor, competing on a list like that of Forza Italia (strengthened by the external support of Lombardo and Cuffaro) is a tough challenge that sees her on the front line.
STAMP BETWEEN BALLOTS AND CONGRESS
The results that the polls will also produce for the PD candidate are very important Maria Flavia Stamp especially on the eve of the provincial and city congress (the balance between the two souls of the party, Schlein and Bonaccini, are also at stake).
I’m no different Francesco Calanna in United States of Europe, Sonia Alfano in action, Massimo Romagnoli in Popular Alternative, Nino Mantineo in Peace, Earth and Dignity, Giuliana Fiertler for Alleanza Verdi engaged in the challenges of their respective parties to reach (or exceed) the 4% threshold.
This is why the weight of the Messina vote it will be important to shift the balance of power and to bring a cross-Strait voice to Brussels.
