The Democratic Party and spring

He turned to the Mayor, and disconsolately addressed the audience, who were primarily activists of his party. “Well, we already know who’s going to win.” Giuseppe Adamoli is convinced that for Varese, “even today, there’s no vision of the town, a project that people know about and are involved in. And this goes for others places nearby: the lack of involvement of the people in the construction of the town. Varese is still beautiful, in spite of the mistakes and great administrative limits, but there’s no innovation.”

This is a harsh criticism of the Northern League, who have led the administration since far-off 1992. Those who govern are clearly responsible, but in view of the next elections in spring, what plans do the opposition have? What innovations can they introduce to kick start Varese into action?

The next five years will be interesting for many reasons. The administration will have to manage the preparations for Expo 2015, a stretch of railway will be built between Arcisate and Stabio, what the Swiss rightly call Lugano – Malpensa, and the Pedemontana motorway will provide a better connection to Brianza and Bergamo. This is only the infrastructure.

There are no clear and strong proposals for the future of Varese, from the centre-left. The Democratic Party, which is the decisive force in this alliance, has been blocked for months, looking for a candidate for Mayor. That a number of people and several political activists have taken a public position appears to have served no purpose. All is still, or nearly.

The leaders of the party do not talk about the primaries any more. Now, even the national secretary seems to want to slow down, there’s a danger that this experience of real participation will be abandoned.

The tactic, a desire for alliances, prevails, even when reality would require courage and a desire for change. In short, it seems almost certain that there will not be the people that Adamoli talks about. There is a lack of enthusiasm and comparison.

In the meantime, time is passing, and with it, the opportunities to listen to and involve the people of Varese in the possible future of their town. It is nothing new, but in this way, they are giving up the game. It is like in a football match, if the sides are too uneven, you lose interest in getting changed and running after the ball, because you are sure you’ll just look silly. So you play in defence, and not only do you lose, you don’t even enjoy yourself.

The primaries are only an instrument, they do not fill the void in politics, but at least they encourage participation. There are already two possibilities: Cordì and Operandi, good people, who know the city. And there are others too. If you do not believe it, say so.  And as the big names on the centre-left, like Adamoli and Marantelli, have decided to stay on the bench, unavailable for the administrative match, let’s put the spring team in to play. At least, this might bring a bit of fresh air; maybe they’ll enjoy themselves, and maybe we will, too.