The Sicilian Democratic Party is grappling with a rather turbulent pre-congress phase. The Messina congress, however, ended with a deep split. Calogero Leanza, the only member of the Democratic Party from Messina, what is happening?
«What is happening is that there is an internal debate which results in a more or less heated confrontation. It is both a political issue and one of different visions and it is a good thing that this is the case. Of course, when important points such as the rules of a congress are discussed, see the issue of primaries, then we need to understand what the intentions of those fueling these discussions are. I believe that we must do everything to avoid appearing quarrelsome, the people who watch us are interested in concreteness.”
But on the outside, that’s exactly how you appear: argumentative.
«It’s true, I don’t deny it, but by nature and by my way of conceiving politics, I always try to mediate. But some things make even people like me lose patience.”
For example?
«For example, being slammed in the newspapers as someone who doesn’t pay contributions to the party, when that’s not the case at all. I wonder why we end up using these tools, writing that I have been put on notice. Apart from the fact that no one put me in default, there are annual payment methods and therefore it is clear that they wanted to see and show only those that were convenient to see and show.”
I won’t ask you if this divergence of views, let’s call it that, exists between the Ars parliamentary group, of which you are a member, and the party secretariat, because it is obvious that it exists. But I ask you what it can lead to.
«It doesn’t lead to anything good, that’s for sure. It is a rift that is emphasized by characters who are comfortable with this rift being there. I can say that ours is a united parliamentary group, which works well and is not at all so obvious. I believe that fomenting these arguments is not good for either the party leaders or the parliamentarians who need to work to obtain results.”
You joined the Democratic Party in a complex phase for Messina, between lost electoral competitions and the departure of an important group like the Navarra group. Is there a different party today than then?
«The names change, but the political dynamics are more or less always the same. There are those who think about the well-being of the party and those who, instead, think about personal interests. I believe in the project of the Democratic Party, I have convinced the group that has always supported me to believe in it, but we must continue to deal with the legacy of internal quarrels.”
How do you get out of it?
«Trusting in common sense and the ability to summarize. What is certain is that, returning to regional issues, when I read about party bodies turning to the Prosecutor’s Office for the amendments presented by the group to the Ars, I can only ask myself: who is this exasperation good for?”.
Beyond the Democratic Party, what political moment is this for Sicily? I am also referring to this renewed dialogue between Schifani and De Luca, that De Luca who, for a period, seemed like he could be the “third leg” of a center-left alliance with you and the M5S.
«I say the same thing I said when this dialogue was alive between De Luca and the progressive area: votes are not the result of algebraic sums, they are not automatisms linked to palace and power games, but are won with a credible political project. Is Cateno De Luca moving closer to the centre-right? I think they should be careful not to suggest that it is a palace operation. But they have more experience than me, they definitely know what they are doing.”
In your opinion, can’t the scenario of centre-right domination in Sicily at the time of the 61-0 be recreated?
«Those were other times and this is what anyone who had a member of their family protagonist of that season says. The real challenge today is to reach out to that moderate electorate who doesn’t go to vote. The centre-right ace grabs all? We’ll see if that’s the case.”
Can the Democratic Party have this ability to intercept abstentionism?
«Certainly yes, and this is why I believe in the need for a new course, even at a provincial level. We must give a voice to the territories, the Democratic Party cannot be, as I once read somewhere, the party that has to use Google Maps to get to the suburbs.”
From some of his statements, he does not seem enthusiastic about the party that emerged from the last Messina congress.
«It’s not like that, the facts will tell us how things will go. There is a new secretary, Armando Hyerace is moving forward, with a majority of delegates. We’ll see what happens.”
