Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
ROME – A free hand in Sicily, a national strategic alliance with the galaxy of mayors, and a claim to a political model born on the ground and alternative to the “armchair politicians of Rome”. From the stage of the national convention of Sud chiama Nord and Sindaci d’Italia titled The Italy of the territories, Cateno De Luca minces no words and ranges from regional dynamics to relations with the Meloni government, not sparing jabs and effective one-liners.
“In Sicily, a free hand: no deal with Schifani”
The first knot untied by the leader and former mayor of Taormina concerns the political line on the island, in the face of the open dialogue at national level with the centre-right majority and with the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. Faced with the hypothesis of support for a possible Renato Schifani-bis, De Luca cuts short:
“I have a free hand in Sicily. I have already said clearly, and it has been confirmed, that we are moving forward with the government of liberation, because I have nothing to do with Schifani and with that centre-right. The agreement is national and in Sicily we will go our own way.”
A stance that clears the field of the fears that have emerged in progressive and centre-left areas, confirming the total autonomy of the autonomist and southern movement in the regional competition. For his part, a guest at the event, the minister for the environment and energy security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin acknowledged that De Luca and his movement have made “a remarkably realistic contribution”.
The understanding with “Sindaci d’Italia” and the Parliament goal
The core of the two-day Rome event is the construction of a structured common front with mayors from across the peninsula, with the aim of signing a formal agreement in the coming days. A strategy that, De Luca explains, aims to overturn institutional representation:
“Our strategy is not aimed at creating a little faction for a few seats in Parliament, but at enabling mayors to get there directly. We have won in over 50 town halls, hitting right and left. It is a project born on the ground.”
To those who compare the project to other initiatives born in the capital – such as the “Progetto civico” promoted by Rome’s member of the municipal executive Alessandro Onorato – the Sud chiama Nord leader replies without concession: “Onorato’s is an operation done in a test tube, a surrogate built in Rome’s drawing rooms.”
The rapport with the government and the social media comparison with New York
Speaking of the relationship with Palazzo Chigi, De Luca confirms direct contacts with the prime minister Giorgia Meloni “on specific issues and for the preparation of this national assembly”, reiterating that early elections do not scare the movement: “We are always ready, with lanterns lit and belts at our waists. When they want to vote, we are already ahead.”
Finally, there is a moment of spectacle and laughter when, projecting on the big screen images of his famous dive into the pool at Villa Dante in Messina in 2019, De Luca compares his move to that of New York mayor Zohran Mamdani: “I did it and I was folkloric, the mayor of New York did it…” he jokes amid laughter and applause from the audience, claiming the originality of a way of doing politics that looks straight at the citizens.
