Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
The resigning deputy mayor Edy Bandiera has expressed full appreciation for mayor Francesco Italia’s speech in the Municipal council and launched a stinging attack on the political forces calling for the mayor’s resignation. Bandiera entered the city’s political debate to defend the mayor, urging a distinction between the judicial and political spheres.
Bandiera described Italia’s speech as “clear, institutionally impeccable, balanced, respectful of the Municipal council and of the city”, also highlighting the value of the irony used to restore calm to a chamber he believes had been overheated by a climate of “premature pre-election atmosphere”.
The resigning deputy mayor also noted that, in his view, even opposition groups had acknowledged the mayor as an honest man above suspicion. “That is the first reason we chose him three years ago,” he said.
The central part of his remarks concerned the principle of presumption of innocence and the relationship between justice and politics. “The mayor clearly distinguished what falls to the judiciary from what falls to politics, forcefully asserting a principle that underpins our rule of law, a principle I have always believed in: the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence,” Bandiera declared.
From there he attacked what he sees as a contradiction in the stance of some parties. “The same parties, on the right and left, that today in Syracuse are calling for resignations and talking of no confidence are the same ones that have held the highest institutional offices while heavily under investigation at national government level, and later sent to trial,” he argued, also citing regional political figures who have faced trial.
His conclusion was unequivocal: “Guarantors—either you are for all or for none!” And again: “Do they see the speck in Syracuse’s eye and not the beam in their own?” For Bandiera, this is political exploitation that, in his reading, citizens have already seen through.
Public works and development: “A volume of projects unseen for decades”
Alongside his defence of the mayor, Bandiera claimed the achievements of the city administration, inviting political forces to focus the debate on the projects completed and those still to finish.
“Instead of playing along with this game, we should all look at what this administration is concretely delivering for the city: a volume of public works unseen for decades,” he said.
Among the projects cited are the commercial redevelopment of via Tisia and via Pitia, awaited for over 20 years, work at the Sbarcadero di Santa Lucia and in via Agatocle, as well as the 100 city streets resurfaced in recent years and the rebuilding of via Elorina with new lighting.
Bandiera also highlighted results linked to Italy’s EU-funded recovery plan (PNRR), speaking of “over €50 million of public works already on the ground”. Resources earmarked, he said, for modern, safe schools, new sports facilities, public housing, urban regeneration and energy efficiency.
Among ongoing projects he mentioned the seven-hectare urban archaeopark planned for viale Scala Greca, which Bandiera said will be completed by 2027. Added to this are the port infrastructure works and the redevelopment of spaces overlooking the natural harbour, developed in collaboration with the port system authority.
“Much has been done, but much remains to do”
The resigning deputy mayor did not hide the outstanding challenges, however. From urban decorum to maintenance of public green spaces, from the oldest sports facilities to the cemetery redevelopment, neighbourhood upkeep and road maintenance, the work still to be done remains extensive.
“Much has been done, much remains to do,” Bandiera stressed, indicating these priorities as the ground on which to focus the administration’s and the Municipal council’s efforts.
His final appeal was to all political groups and to the public: “All this can only be achieved with further commitment from the administration and the entire Municipal council, with cohesion and a genuine love for the city, setting aside electoral exploitation.”
For Bandiera, the priority must therefore remain Syracuse’s future, through “a great sense of responsibility towards Syracuse and its people” and the collaboration of the entire community.
