Calabria, culture breaks into the election campaign
Corrado Alvaro, libraries, archaeological sites and new investments ignite pre-election debate
4' min read
Key points
4' min read
An unexpected, forced election campaign after the surprise resignation of the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto. Which has shuffled all the cards, even those of the centre-right majority itself. Imagine on the other front. And as much as both camps have tried to regain their bearings through social media, rallies, the odd irreverence and a daily race to see who can fire the biggest shot, the election campaign is almost at a standstill.
The assists of the national bigwigs
.What makes the noise, if anything, is the assistance of the national bigwigs, Giuseppe Conte, Elly Shlein and Nicola Fratoianni for the centre-left's broad field, and an announced convention, scheduled for the next few days in Lamezia, with the centre-right bigwigs and the participation of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Culture breaks into the debate and livens it up
The debate between the two contenders, who would then be three - in the running there is also Francesco Toscano, Democrazia sovrana e popolare list - does not add anything new to the known issues plaguing Calabria, let alone solutions: health (first and foremost), depopulation, work, infrastructure. But what brings a flicker of novelty, this time, is culture and its programming, which surprisingly revives the debate between lists and candidates. At a distance, of course, mainly via social media, but with arguments that have inflamed tempers and put some spice on this election eve.
Corrado Alvaro and his foundation
At the centre of the discussion was Corrado Alvaro, Calabria's monumental writer, originally from San Luca, an 'impatient utopian', an idealist to a fault, passionate about the fable of life more than life itself, as he liked to say. A Mediterranean and Europeanised Calabrese, he was among the first to understand that deficit of representation from which Calabria still suffers. In his home town, known only for feuds and facts of 'ndrangheta, the foundation named after him has been dissolved and placed under receivership: loss-making budgets of around 10,000 euro and members close to the 'ndrine, as Prefect Clara Vaccaro writes ("some directors on the board of directors do not offer guarantees of honourableness and independence"). A sensational action that has no precedent in Italy.
The challenge of democracy
.In San Luca, the municipality is also being put under commission, and this is the third time: the mayor Bruno Bartolo, despite his good reputation, has been swept away by a Carabinieri investigation into the entrusting of the market area of the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Polsi and the management of the municipal stadium, built during one of the many commissionerships. The structure was found not to be fully compliant. Bartolo remained under house arrest for seven days. But in the meantime the commissioners arrived. Today, in the heart of Aspromonte, the challenge is evidently one of democracy.
