Gessica Allegni, secretary of the Democratic Party since last October, was the driving force of a Democratic Party which, against all expectations, managed to bring Gian Luca Zattini one step away from the run-off. You also reconfirm the outgoing administrations in the municipalities of the district. “We recognize Zattini’s victory, but we made him sweat it,” summarizes Allegni.
Allegni, first of all a look at the municipalities in the area. How did it go?
“In addition to holding, we have also grown. We are the leading party with peaks of up to 40% in some municipalities. We confirm the outgoing mayors with extraordinary results in Modigliana, Meldola and Forlimpopoli. We are also the first party in Castrocaro, a good sign in a municipality not administered by us. There are many things to be happy about.”
In Forlì, however, there was a defeat for the centre-left. In recent months it was made no secret that he was starting at a disadvantage compared to Zattini.
“When you run against an outgoing mayor it is never easy. The tendency also in the other municipalities in the area was to reward the outgoing mayors, who also won with a very high difference over their opponents. This did not happen in Forlì, despite the defeat being evident, and we recognize Zattini’s victory no less. We barely managed to get to the run-off, and there it would probably have been a different story. We can’t complain about anything.”
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Rinaldini’s candidacy process began in October.
“We held the conference in October, we also found ourselves faced with unexpected situations: the flood slowed down the conference process, making us arrive in autumn. We have regrouped the party, which is the first in the city and by a wide margin. We have rebuilt a political community, which was seen in this election campaign. We found unity on the mayoral candidate, a fact that was not obvious until a few months ago, and we thank Graziano Rinaldini who made himself available at a time when others would not have done so. He put his heart, presence and hard work into it. It wasn’t enough, but we came close.”
Before she took office as territorial secretary, the Democratic Party navigated this issue by sight, often passing the responsibilities onto the council group. Was time wasted?
“I took office when there was still no open discussion on the table regarding the administration of the capital. We started from scratch. There was little time, but we used it well. Everyone believed that we would come out of the congress ruined and instead it was the exact opposite. The party has re-established itself and has taken on real credibility.”
The mistake of 5 years ago was that after the defeat they let it run for four and a half years without building anything for the following elections.
“Exact. In fact we must learn from the mistakes of the past. We need to build for the future. We have several young councilors and the conditions to sow for the future. There will have to be close work between the councilors and the party, but we will also have to continue to work together for the coalition. Above all, we must force ourselves to be among people, in neighborhoods, involve citizens, organize periodic meetings and involve them in municipal administration issues. In the council we will present a tough, but responsible opposition on the issues.”
Will you start with a path with a view to expiring in 5 years?
“Absolutely. We don’t have to get there at the last minute. In 5 years we must be prepared for the challenge, with people capable of taking over the leadership of the city. We must get there with clear ideas before the electoral game opens. Now we must contribute so that the people who have joined the Council can build skills and autonomy. The administration is a great training ground.”
Did the Democratic Party do well at a national level, thanks to Elly Schlein?
“It was an unexpected result in some respects, it was seen that the Schlein line allows us to broaden the spectrum of our electorate. However, it is also the result of a true unity with Stefano Bonaccini, who has had an enormous driving effect in our territory. He had a huge consensus, deserved because he was a great regional president.”
Is the regional Democratic Party satisfied with the vote in Forlì?
“They are all favorably impressed by the result in Forlì. We still have to do the analysis, but no one is complaining about anything. If we look at cities where centre-right mayors govern, such as Ferrara where Alan Fabbri had a clear reconfirmation, we have come one step away from the run-off. Lattuca wins with a percentage of 65%, that’s a big difference compared to a win at 50.6%. We made him sweat.”
