Turnaround or tumble? The new “reversal” could arrive within days. Having concluded the European elections last weekend, the mayor of Taranto Rinaldo Melucci is apparently looking for new alliances to guarantee the last years of government of the city.
Possible scenarios
To do so he would have already made an appointment with the Minister for the South Raffaele Fitto. Political rumors indicate today the possible day of the meeting. To establish what? The definitive and official distancing of the Municipality’s coalition from the last shreds of the centre-left left with the mayor (after the expulsions of the parties of those councilors who chose to remain in the majority despite indications to the contrary from the Pd, M5Stelle, Con and Verdi). And the transition with the centre-right, with the embrace of the Brothers of Italy, currently remaining in the minority in the Palazzo di città such as Forza Italia and the League.
After the vote
Thanks to the electoral success of Giorgia Meloni’s party, the picture could be this: facing the rise of the Democratic Party in the city with an administration elected for the centre-left which could become centre-right, bringing together independents, defectors from the centre-left coalition, representatives of Italy alive and with the support of centre-right councillors. Hypothesis denied, it must be said, forcefully by the current councilors of the League first and foremost (with Francesco Battista on several occasions) and then also by the members of Forza Italia, Svolta Liberale and Fdi. Yet it must not be such an unreal scenario, given that for months now the Democratic Party has been denouncing a “non-belligerence pact” towards Melucci. A friendly fire, in short.
The mayor’s recent words, moreover, invite an expansion of his coalition. The too small numbers with which he is forced to deal in the city council do not give him peace of mind. The assembly decides little, very often it slips, it has no political impact, triggering complaints from citizens. Only on Tuesday, a few absences were enough to cause the quorum to be missing in the chamber and to trigger the piqued reaction of the mayor who attacked the minority accused of not being, in his opinion, sufficiently collaborative and “his” of being poorly organised.
Meanwhile, political viability is now reduced to a minimum. At the European elections, the city councilor Massimiliano Stellato (candidate with United States of Europe) and the centre-right candidates obtained a result below the forecasts for the city of Taranto. A defeat that could weigh heavily and bring other news. In the corridors of the city hall there are rumors of a possible reshuffle also in the council. Incoming with a leading role could be a man representing the regional and municipal councilor Stellato, dissatisfied with the electoral result and pillar of Melucci’s new majority. At this point, there should be someone else on the way out, sacrificed to make room for the new entry: the “political bookmakers” would quote councilor Mazzariello as the favourite.
From Brothers of Italy attack on Melucci
Certainly after the electoral result of the European elections (with 35% of voters and the majority of preferences for the Democratic Party in the capital) and after the postponement of the city council on Tuesday with related accusations by the mayor against the minority, the council group of Brothers of Italy with the councilors Giampaolo Vietri and Tiziana Toscano. «Melucci complains to the city that he cannot govern due to the opposition. This is the delirium we witness in the city palace! The reality, however, is that after being saved by a miracle on the evening of the collection of signatures from the notary, the municipal administration continues to be tired and without vision. The mayor cannot be seen, the councilors seem like extras without decision-making power, the majority councilors seem like anything but a team.”
The accusations certainly do not lead to a possible agreement: «The council majority that supports the mayor lives hand to mouth because, in addition to being scrappy, it is without a political identity and therefore lacks a common vision that could prove successful. Melucci perhaps thinks that it is possible to continue to administer a provincial capital, with the problems that Taranto has, with a majority that exists only for the distribution of political and administrative positions; administer evidently thinking more about oneself than about citizenship”, the words of Vietri and Toscano.
«Continuously looking for the numbers for a new majority without a project will only serve to prolong the agony that the city experiences due to this municipal administration. The mayor and those who support him, instead of reproaching the opposition for being an opposition, would do better to ask themselves whether the people of Taranto, especially those who voted for them, still feel represented by this administration”, they added.
The conclusion invites a vote: «A non-existent majority distant from the population would do well to take a step back and offer its experience to allow Taranto to turn the page, because even the recognition of a failure is useful for a constructive debate on the future of the city and would certainly be more appreciated than the presumption with which we remain glued to our seats without producing anything useful for the citizens, watching the latter legitimately protest for everything that doesn’t go from top to bottom”.
Vietri and Toscano seem to lock the door on any alliances: «Now, in the wake of the national wave in favor of the centre-right, we need to concentrate and work to offer an alternative city government that restores hope and trust to all those who love Taranto », they conclude.
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© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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