08 June 2024, 06:50
4 min read
PALERMO – Voting will take place this afternoon and tomorrow until 11pm for the European elections, but almost five hundred thousand Sicilians are also called to vote for the renewal of the administrative institutions in 37 municipalities.
The European elections, let’s say it straight away, have never warmed the heart of the Sicilians, as if Europe were a useless ornament. But no, l‘Europe is increasingly dominant in choices on major community issues. If anything, it is Italy (and let alone Sicily) that often does not grasp the meaning of the importance of certain decisions.
The Sicily-Sardinia constituency will bring 8 MEPs to Brussels, almost certainly all elected in Sicily: that is, just over 1% of the entire European Parliament. Put like this, the numerical proportion would seem to authorize the concept of “superficial distrust” on Sicily’s ability to influence decisions.
But the news is now full of problems linked to the decisions taken in Brussels: from the Pnrr to clean energy, from migrants to all environmental issues (the topic of beach concessions is very topical), there are also the thousand problems linked to the agriculture and fishing sectors which directly affect thousands of Sicilian companies.
Measures, the European ones, which often leave one disconcerted. It is confirmation of how difficult it is to synthesize the needs of a fisherman from Helsinki and that of Aspra, between a farmer from Germany and one from the province of Caltanissetta. For this a vigilant and even more authoritative presence of the Sicilian political class would be necessary.
We should count more. Which, to be honest, I have often heard in this lukewarm election campaign. Comparing the issues of this election with those of 15 years ago, one would say that some progress has been made.
Nothing, however, that warrants optimism or that changes the underlying judgment. And that is: Italian politics “uses” these elections above all to record the balance of power within a party or within a coalition.
I would like to be even more clear. Many party leaders took to the field personally in all constituencies but had communicated in advance to voters that they would not occupy seats in Brussels.
In the event of a probable election they will have to decide which constituency choose and this usually happens on very local political bases which will reward a candidate from one or the other constituency. Does all this make European sense?
No, it doesn’t make sense. I would like to be even more basic. The Sicilian response at the polls is awaited above all because it will have repercussions on the balance of the regional government. Translation: if any party gets more votes than expected it will knock to get an extra department. Or at least some sub-government position. It works like this.
I don’t dwell too much on the things we’ve read and written about for a month, like the internal Forza Italia challenge between Schifani and Tajani, represented by councilors Tamajo and Falcone.
Or the attempt to relaunch the Democratic Party which however continues to have an exasperated “dialectic” between too many internal currents or the desire of the M5S to focus on the safe use of citizenship income, perhaps calling it something else.
Or Leoluca Orlando’s attempt to get back on track; the appeal of “Scateno” De Luca to his followers after accusations of bourgeoisisation; the penetration power of the center lists and the electoral strength of Cuffaro’s DC within a center-right list.
And then one of the questions that intrigues me the most: is the inclusion of anti-mafia totems (real or presumed) still an added value?
On administrative matters the discussions are much more fragmented. There are small and large municipalities, where people vote with proportional or majority voting, where alliances are very (too) variable, where it will be difficult – after the counting – to make an overall assessment.
I could close with a banal “good rating to all” candidates. I prefer to turn my observation point and say: “good vote to all the voters”. In the end they are the ones who decide and I hope that this happens on the basis of an effective political conviction or on the credibility of the candidates and not on the basis of mere logic of personalistic interests.
But unfortunately I can’t forget that five years ago, 37.5% of those entitled to vote in Sicily voted. Practically one in three Sicilians, 5% less than five years earlier. Isn’t that already a clue?
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Published on
08 June 2024, 06:50
