At this point, it’s about trusting the sensations: «And I feel trust around me. I started out first, in October, with the electoral campaign and I did many things, but without ever losing contact with people, citizens, traders. And from there, now, I get this sense of confidence.” Elena Carnevali is a few days before the vote that will confirm or deny his optimism. She must close the circle that she herself opened in 2014, leaving the green light for the candidacy of Giorgio Gori to the Municipality of Bergamo. He was mayor for ten years, she was in Parliament and now he must try to take up the baton of an administration that enjoyed great consensus.
What do the people of Bergamo ask of those who are running to lead the city?
«The priority, the deepest problem is healthcare: people feel abandoned, there are those who tell me they set aside a little treasure in case they have to face healthcare expenses. The mayor does not have direct powers, which belong to the Region, but citizens come to your door and you have to give answers.”
What can a mayor do in this matter?
«We want to build an observatory on waiting lists, decentralize services in the neighbourhoods, build a relationship with the Asst and have a greater voice with those who have responsibilities. However, if resources for healthcare at a national level remain in the order of 6.2% of GDP, as now, the national healthcare system is doomed. We must push harder on this point, also as the Democratic Party.”
Emergency rooms become places where social-welfare problems are also resolved, especially for those over eighty. Isn’t it up to the municipalities to prevent this drift?
«We need to focus on prevention to provide answers before people arrive at the emergency room. We will favor group medicine, the opening of clinics 12 hours a day and the strengthening of service pharmacies, as well as family and community nurses and home services in general. Working with other institutions and the voluntary sector.”
Among the problems that a mayor can influence, which is the most urgent in the city today?
«In recent years there have been major transformations and redevelopments, but we realize that more safety protection is needed in some areas. Security is not a left or right issue, it is a people issue.”
To become more attentive to this issue, did you need the results of a survey, which you commissioned, which indicated it as a priority? The center-right says that for years you have underestimated it.
«Conditions have changed, the city has changed, after Covid. The theme of marginalization has gained strength, irregularities, youth discomfort, aggression and group bullying have increased. I am among those who have always asked for more police forces in Bergamo, also together with my centre-right colleagues. We need to reach from 160 to 210 local police officers to create a unit of foot police. An important investment is needed, even if this council has not stood by and it is the State that mainly has to guarantee security.”
But how much does hiring 50 local police officers cost the Municipality?
«Honestly, I didn’t do the calculation before now, but it’s soon done. Let’s say that each agent can cost 30 thousand euros a year.”
So, we are talking about 1.5 million euros per year.
«Yes, but when I say 50 new agents it doesn’t mean all of them immediately. However, the hiring of the first ten agents is already planned and will allow the activation of the foot unit of twenty agents”.
Aren’t the fences in Piazzale Alpini the symbol of the failure of the redevelopment of an area that has serious safety problems?
«Many experiments were carried out there, with different functions. The solution, which was also originally conceived by the architect Gambirasio, may not be aesthetically pleasing but will allow us to have a safer and more lively space.”
He confirmed, in case of victory, the presence of Sergio Gandi and Marcella Messina on the board. A team that is a photocopy of Gori’s?
«Sergio is many things, deputy mayor, a person with great autonomy of thought, scrupulous budget councilor, thanks to him the accounts are under control. And he was also a non-ideological security councilor. Like Marcella, he is one of the many valuable people on the team, but mine won’t be a photocopy, there will be news. I will share the choices with the political forces.”
How did you experience the fact that Gori had preferred Gandi to you, before the deputy mayor withdrew from the race?
«It was also a natural choice, I didn’t find it strange, because they worked together for 10 years. But I was also struck by the support that Gori expressed to me, once indicated as a candidate. I think we carry a virtuous legacy but that my gaze, even a female one, will be an added value.”
Many voters will vote based on the qualities of the candidates, regardless of gender. Do you believe that the chance to become the first mayor has a particular value for the city?
«People choose you for who you are, what you say and propose, not for your gender. Even though there are many women in top roles in this city, I received a lot of female solidarity for my candidacy. I think I measured the issue well in the election campaign.”
Mobility is the other big chapter on which the next council will have to work.
«This is the crucial phase for Bergamo, with all the major infrastructure construction sites open. The interventions for the new rail and tram connections will be decisive for developing sustainable mobility and lowering traffic pressure on the city. It won’t be an easy phase, the construction sites will have an impact, which is why we will set up a control room to mitigate the side effects on traffic.”
This idea of a manager resembles that of Andrea Pezzotta, who would like one to redesign mobility.
«Technical supports have always been used and are important, they offer data but then it is politics that makes the choices. The direction taken in recent years is the right one, we are now aiming to invest to increase the external parking lots, connected to the centre. For example, I have a preliminary project ready for 723 spaces in via Spino, but it is also a question of making better use of the Fiera car park. The idea is to design a city in which there are no longer those 40 thousand car entries per day, focusing on rail transport. I don’t want to start a Punic war on cars, but those coming from outside must find different mobility. Helping commercial activities, with agreements.”
The centre-right instead promises to bring back free blue lines on Sundays and to abolish some ZTLs.
“It’s not the right direction, it’s better to bring the parking disc to some areas, to ensure the rotation of parking spaces.”
Unlike the police issue, have you made precise calculations on the expense on this one?
«It’s not that I haven’t done the calculations, I have stable priorities, starting with housing aid for young people, then mobility and security. But if the Meloni government then cuts transfers, the math doesn’t add up. This reduction in resources would be very serious, but I see that now the Prime Minister is already backing away from that cut for those who, like us, had spent better on PNRR funds”.
In 2019 Gori also won thanks to the votes of centre-right moderates. Don’t you think that that world could in part feel better represented by Pezzotta?
«My coalition includes all the forces that supported Gori in 2014, even if some acronyms did not exist. I don’t feel any distance with the moderate centre.”
Pezzotta gets very angry when he defines him as a “part-time mayor”, saying that while continuing to be a lawyer he will dedicate all the time necessary to the Municipality.
«He raised the issue, declaring that on the basis of the experiences of Franco Tentorio and Roberto Bruni he thinks he can carry on his work as a lawyer in parallel with that of an administrator. But find me a mayor, in Milan, Brescia, Mantua, who doesn’t take care of the city full time. You can’t look at Bergamo with the eyes of 20 years ago.”
