Naples – The electoral truce lasts just 48 hours. Vincenzo De Luca chooses the right moment to get things off his chest and respond to Gaetano Manfredi, who recently dismissed the decade of regional government with a scathing comment: "lights and shadows." A judgment the outgoing governor has not at all digested.
"We've brought about a revolution here, far from the light and shadows," De Luca replies, dismissing the mayor's words as "an opportunistic expression of radical chic." He goes further: "Some people have short memories: we invented the wide shot five years ago."
A long-distance controversy that comes just as Manfredi was claiming Naples's "newfound centrality" in the Fico era, a statement that De Luca reinterprets with sarcasm: "I can tell you what the Region has done: 3 billion in investments directed at Naples."
Fico is working on the cabinet: political balance and more space for women.
However, the friction between the Municipality and the Region doesn't seem to be slowing down the new governor's work. Roberto Fico, who met with ANAC president Giuseppe Busia today, is determined to close the cabinet dossier quickly, even before the elected officials are announced.
Eight lists supported him and have already been contacted for a first round of consultations. The most sensitive issue is the female quota: only eight women will be in the Council, five in the majority. This imbalance Fico intends to compensate for with a more balanced government team.
Party maneuvers: from socialists to centrists, the risk of the councilors
Negotiations have already begun.
Forward Campania – PSI is aiming for a councilorship for national secretary Enzo Maraio.
Green-Left Alliance proposes Tonino Scala, regional leader of the Italian Left.
Reformist House He is considering a possible return of Armando Cesaro through the appointment of Ciro Buonajuto, the first of those elected, to the council.
Mastella's centrists they propose Pellegrino Mastella or an area technician.
On the De Luca front, the outgoing governor aims to maintain a strong presence in the future regional administration. At the forefront of his demands is Fulvio Bonavitacola. The vice-presidency is a difficult one—it almost certainly goes to the Democratic Party with Mario Casillo—but outgoing councilors Lucia Fortini (Education) and Ettore Cinque (Budget) remain in the running.
For the Five Star Movement, the name circulating most insistently is that of city councilor Luca Trapanese. Within the Democratic Party, who could win two council positions, the names of Loredana Raia and Portici mayor Enzo Cuomo are being floated.
And now De Luca? "The mayor of Salerno could be a possibility." De Luca isn't giving any details about his own political future. He simply sends a cryptic, but not overly so, message to his allies: "The mayor of Salerno could be a possibility."
The game, in short, has only just begun. And post-election Campania is already riddled with tensions, competing ambitions, and a government conundrum that Fico wants to resolve in record time, before the toxic effects of the election campaign leave deeper repercussions.
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Comments (1)
The article discusses a controversy between De Luca and Manfredi, but I'm not sure why they're so conflicted. Their statements seem rather confusing and unconstructive for the city of Naples and its administration.