The provincial secretary of the Democratic Party Valenti: “All the municipalities are contestable, but the Democratic Party in the province has always maintained its status”
The double electoral date on 8 and 9 June it’s getting closer and closer. Between the European and administrative elections it will be an important round for the centre-left, which will try to confirm itself as a governing force in the municipalities of the province, where it already has a large majority. The provincial secretary of the Democratic Party Andrea Valenticontacted by Gazzetta di Siena, showed himself to be very confident about the outcome of the vote.
After the defeat in the local elections a year ago, does the Democratic Party arrive at this election in good health?
“He arrives healthy both in the province and in Siena. In Siena there was a process that led to a commissioner. Initiations have been made, the mobilization has been reactivated, so the Democratic Party is certainly healthy. The party in the province has always maintained its status. We are clearly healthy.”
Can it be said that many provincial cities that were once firmly in your hands are now contestable?
“That definitely. I believe that in this electoral round there are no municipalities that cannot be contested, for a whole series of reasons. There is a national push towards the right that is evident; even the right has built a ruling class over time. So everything is contestable. It is also true that we have many years of good governance and a trained and capable class of administrators. So I believe we will have excellent results.”
The European elections bring fewer voters to the polls than other elections, are you afraid of a low turnout?
“Where there are administrative elections there is an automatic drive, because then administrative elections are usually of great interest to voters, they see them linked to their concreteness. Probably the message we are trying to get across is that there is no distance between what is decided in Europe and what is decided at a local level. The national legislature is 80% similar to the European one. For us, Europe is a future prospect, we believe the European vote is very important. Even when we campaign for local elections we always reiterate that there is double voting and that there are two realities that intersect in everyday life.”
Will these elections tell us if the province of Siena and Tuscany are still red?
“Sometimes the dynamics are different. Last time the same thing happened, we voted for both the European elections and the local elections. In some municipalities the League for Europeans prevailed but the centre-left mayors won hands down. I am convinced that both in the province of Siena and in the city of Siena the Democratic Party will be the first party. I am confident that it will also be the case at a regional level.”
