Demonstrating that he did not want to be “one man in charge” was a priority Antonio Gengaro since his candidacy was made official. At least in his intentions, it cannot be said that he didn’t give it his all. After Elly Schlein And Giuseppe Conteis with the mayor of Naples Gaetano Manfredi that the aspiring mayor of Campo Largo bids his last farewell to the city before electoral silence descends on Avellino awaiting the runoff.
Gengaro immediately explains the reason for this choice: «Naples remains the cultural capital of the South and will be the city with which we will dialogue, especially in terms of job opportunities, to build things together. Manfredi, in addition to being a mayor, is an academic of the highest level and was the country’s minister. He is a person who knows the dynamics and processes of cities very well. He knows which direction we need to go in, and we will get help.”
«I particularly wanted to be here to express my closeness and the support of our entire administration and political community for Antonio Gengaro – added Manfredi – A great battle of civilization, democracy and renewal is taking place in Avellino. I know this reality well because my roots are from the province, so I know what the value of the city is, and what its great historical, political, cultural and entrepreneurial tradition is. And I also know well how important it is today to build networks, to have strong connections between the internal areas and the coastal area, and between Naples and the other provincial capitals. Only through strong connections and with careful planning of investments and connections, with a unitary vision of our territories, can we create development opportunities to avoid depopulation and guarantee the many young people in these areas qualified job opportunities at home They. This is the great challenge before us and we must face it together, without the idea that by closing ourselves off in small localism we can have a future”
According to Manfredi, an important political perspective must be built through a strategic vision that connects the areas of Avellino and Alta Irpinia with the coast: «Which means guaranteeing fast connections, connections in investments, to live in these places but enjoy of all the infrastructures present in the city of Naples. This is the real effort to be made. Today we have a huge tourist boom in the city, and hundreds of thousands of those visitors can also come to know these territories with their food and wine and cultural offerings. But for this to happen, an integrated vision is needed. With Gengaro all this will happen, and starting Monday we will work to build a strong axis between Naples and this city. We must think big and ensure that opportunities are created for everyone, not just a few. We want a great Avellino that becomes a protagonist again, because only with a great Avellino alongside a great Naples can a great future be built for the South.”
The conclusion was from Gengaro, with an appeal to vote especially for the undecided: «In these days, thanks to our work, big politics has returned to Avellino and we are once again at the center of Italy. We are mentioned in the news and not for the news events, but for the ideas and initiatives we have brought forward. I promise that, if I have the honor of being elected, I will be everyone’s mayor. I will take off the role of the candidate of the progressive front to be the first citizen of the people of Avellino, even those who did not vote for me, because this must return to being a community. None of us allowed ourselves to tell Laura Nargi what Rino Genovese and his friends told her during the first round, we campaign “for” and not “against”. Are they allies now? Let the people of Avellino take this into account, as they are reflecting in the meantime. The men and women of the progressive front on Sunday will not go to the seaside, but will go to vote, as will the friends of the more radical left, which is linked to the values of men like the headmaster Nicola Vietri. But those who share the civil values of Falcone and Borsellino will also vote for us. To the silent part of the city that is reflecting, I say: we are a well-defined part of the political spectrum of the country and the city. But to all those who don’t think like us, I remind you that today the choice is between two mayors: if they really don’t want to vote for what we represent, for a moral and ethical question they should vote against them.”
