CORIGLIANO-ROSSANO – Three squares for two candidates, warmth and passion – without a doubt – for the last night of the electoral campaign of Pasqualina Straface and Flavio Stasi before the opening of the polls which will decide who will be the new mayor of Corigliano-Rossano. That of the great Ionian polis will be the most important and strategic consultations in the whole of Calabria in this session; if only because here, in the capital of Sibaritide, the attention of national and regional politics has not only been concentrated and, above all, because here – in fact – a real generational clash of politics has been triggered, especially in the last few days local.
We followed the last two rallies, Pasqualina Straface in Piazza Salotto, in Corigliano scalo, and Flavio Stasi in Piazza Portofino, in Schiavonea, to perceive the last moods of a brawl which, frankly, left a very bitter taste in the mouth due to the excessively harsh tones where the proposal, the ideas, the positions on the major disputes affecting north-eastern Calabria have been totally annihilated.
Pasqualina Straface’s show of strength
At 10 pm in Piazza Salotto, the crowd is ready to witness the final act of this electoral campaign, which has now come to an end. After Rossano and Schiavona, the centre-right candidate decided to close in the square of the airport of the urban area of Corigliano tornado, in what to all intents and purposes is her home, to talk about the issues that have characterized this month of discussions and debates.
At the beginning, Straface reiterated that his breakfast represents the right alternative for the recovery of the city “mortified and now immersed in decay, especially in the peripheral areas”.
He then continued by referring to the investigations in which the municipal machine was involved which is “bringing to light the direct assignments, the malfeasance and the system of power perpetrated by the current administration as in the case of the PinQua”. “On our side – he reiterated – there are young and professional candidates who have decided to get involved without any promises in return”.
Then, a passage on issues related to his administrative past and the dissolution of his then municipal council: “If I’m here it’s because justice has legitimized me.” And then the attack on Stasi: «This does not represent the model of city that should have emerged from the function. Here – he underlined – every participation institution was blocked, the division was fueled and millions of debts were left. The merger represented a problem for Stasi and not an opportunity. It emptied the historic center of Corigliano which is now without offices. There was therefore no planning.” A comment also on the Pnrr funds: «Many municipalities in the south have managed to obtain large loans. Our city, however, has not yet seen any public works completed.”
And regarding the programs he specified: «Entrepreneurs are not the enemy to be defeated but a resource. We will relaunch cultural tourism, the seafront and its accommodation facilities. We will relaunch the three historic centers. We will build the Citadel of services in Insiti. And we will do all this – he concluded – with competence and not through sympathy. We need meritocracy. Therefore, until the last vote, let’s give this city back the greatness it deserves.”
The cliché of Flavio Stasi
The hoarse voice of the candidate for Mayor Flavio Stasi does not stop his loud and clear message: «It is to my city that I must be accountable. Not in Cosenza, Catanzaro or Rome. They kept the city in check for years. Now Corigliano-Rossano is a free city.”
Thus begins his last rally in Piazza Portofino, with a direct attack on the opposing coalition guilty, according to Stasi, of having done nothing more than “throw mud during this electoral campaign”. «On the one hand – he explains – proposed ideas and the future. On the other, the mud. They want you to believe that we are like them, that we are all the same. With this mud they try to take away your hope, because a community without hope is easier to blackmail.”
The outgoing mayor then claims what has been done, especially for the community of Schiavonea, from the fish market to public lighting, from the funds intercepted for the redevelopment of the city to the inclusive municipal beaches, from the 4 million euros intercepted for public housing to services for fishing and tourism.
There is no shortage of vitriolic sentences, with which Stasi accuses the other party of having blackmailed patients and professionals of the healthcare company: «You must be ashamed of what you are doing. You are worse than the mafiosi because you gamble on people’s health and you will be remembered for this.”
He closes his rally with an appeal: «The dark times are over and will never return. Today we are a growing community. We must close a devastating page in Calabrian politics by saying that Corigliano-Rossano is free and wants to grow. There is no need for “massages” when there is competence and courage. I only have to answer to you who elected me mayor and I don’t have to say thank you to anyone except you. Now we have to choose whether to go back 20 years or move forward. Continuing the path undertaken, which makes young people proud to say “I am from Corigliano-Rossano” and this is scary. Corigliano-Rossano did not give in to blackmail 5 years ago. Show me again that we love our free city.”
Giusi Grilletta
Rita Rizzuti
