Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
Upcoming local elections in seven key towns in the province, together with the subsequent regional and national votes, demand reflection on the future of Syracuse’s centre-right. Riccardo Gennuso has called on the coalition’s parties to engage in prior discussion and adopt a shared strategy, urging provincial representatives of the various political forces to overcome local divisions and rivalries.
The crux is the potential gap between the alliances formed for the local elections and those that will need to stand together for the subsequent votes to renew the Sicilian Regional Assembly (ARS) and the national Parliament.
“Over a few months, it becomes self-defeating and, to most, incomprehensible that the same parties destined to be allies in the regional and national elections should ask members and supporters to back opposing candidates and coalitions in the municipal contests,” Gennuso observes.
In his view, it is not enough to justify the divisions by invoking the civic nature of local elections. He argues that this reasoning loses weight when traditional parties take part directly in the contests under their own symbols and with their own representatives.
“The civic exception falls away once the presence of structured parties and their symbols becomes an insurmountable prerequisite for local leaders, who draw their representative strength precisely from that presence,” he stresses.
Gennuso believes the centre-right now has an important political opportunity in the province of Syracuse, one that should not be squandered by territorial divisions and rivalries.
“A united centre-right is objectively a force capable of governing the area with vision and planning, creating a lasting virtuous circle,” he states.
Hence his appeal to provincial leaders to begin a dialogue capable of identifying in advance a shared method for tackling the upcoming electoral deadlines. Gennuso argues that decisions must take account of each party’s roots in its territory, but also of the need to ensure balance, collaboration and team spirit.
The message is aimed above all at the coalition’s future: alliances cannot be built only in the run-up to regional or national elections; they must rest on coherent political relationships even in local contests.
“What has been has been; what will be must be built in terms of consistency and results. The credibility of all and the reliability of each actor are at stake,” Gennuso concludes.
