Fibrillations in the progressive wide field at Palazzo di Città. Parties and movements busy with the elections until a few days ago have reopened the Cencelli manual and the issues are coming home to roost.
Once the European elections have passed, they take up the Council and Participate practice again, when the approval of the financial statements in the former municipal companies is now approaching, which coincides with the expiration of the assignments.
It seems, moreover, that a sole director had expressly invoked the statute, to sign his budget before leaving.
The political forces would have agreed on the opportunity to meet again immediately after the polls. And the day came.
Yesterday afternoon, secretaries of parties and movements and majority group leaders met again and put their requests on the table of the mayor of Foggia, Maria Aida Episcopo, six months after the launch of the Council, the deadline for a first coupon.
According to rumors from the day before, at least one seat could be missed. A councilor indicated by Action should leave the executive, to make room for a name from the Socialist Party. As is known, in fact, the geography of the City Council has changed: in February Mino Di Chiara left the Tempi Nuovi-Azione group and planted the carnation flag in the chamber, only to then tear away an opposition councilor less than a month ago, Stefania Rignanese, who followed in her father’s footsteps, is now deputy provincial secretary of the PSI.
At the moment, therefore, the council group headed by the city secretary has two councillors, just like Tempi Nuovi-Azione, composed of Paolo Frattulino and Antonello Di Paola. And it could even reach three. Hence, the request to rebalance the representation in the Council.
The entry of Carmela Russo, daughter of Pasquale Russo, also once a councilor, would already be ready, first of the non-elected with 594 preferences on the Tempi Nuovi list. Furthermore, she returned to Foggia after specialization and, therefore, there would be no more excuses. The mayor, in fact, had set precise limits on work commitments, valid for her entire team.
At first, the accountant Lorenzo Frattarolo, councilor for Productive Activities, would have been considered expendable. The socialists would close the circle, because they occupy the space they claimed at the last meeting, when they had the worst of it.
But the mayor would have been the one to lock it down. Moreover, in these first months, he has shown a certain activism. On the basis of discussions with trade associations, he found the solution to reduce the market rent rates; it took action to prepare a kiosk plan and, before that, resolved the problem of expired authorizations for the occupation of public land; it has given a new impetus to the fight against illegal commercial activity; has taken over the advertising system dossier again, just to mention a few initiatives.
The other councilor in the Action quota is Daniela Patano for Personnel and Local Police. The socialists, moreover, would not be satisfied with a place in the council, but would also have asked for a vice-presidency in the investee companies.
At the top of the list of dissatisfied people, however, as is known, is Southern Italy, which had used clear and strong words on the occasion of its first city congress and would have reiterated the concept at the table.
If in Cerignola, the broad camp recognized the 5 Star Movement with only one councilor as a representative on the council, in Foggia Southern Italy it did not receive the same treatment.
And so, to start another round, the political movement expects the mayor to finish the first, enhancing the contribution to the cause of Pasquale Cataneo and his group. After having demonstrated political reliability, he is confident that his request for a presence on the Amiu board of directors will be accepted.
Certainly, we are moving towards a five-member board of directors in the former municipal companies, a solution which initially met with some resistance. The change involves an act of direction and a process that could extend the time.
All the forces claim their weight within the coalition, and it is physiological, but they also highlight the sacrifices, because the price of some choices cannot be paid indefinitely. Some on one side, some on the other, show some disappointment. Among the dissatisfied, there would also be Pd and Cinquestelle.
The leader of the Democratic Party, Lino Dell’Aquila, did not miss an opportunity, in the Council, to sound the alarm from time to time, essentially inviting the Council to get a move on.
After yesterday’s meeting, there were tight lips in the broad progressive camp. It would have ended, however, with black smoke.
