The Calabrian Democratic Party presented the motion «Organising hope. Stay, participate, change Calabria”, in support of Francesco Mendicino, sole candidate for the secretariat of the Calabrian Young Democrats. The regional secretary of the Calabria Democratic Party, Nicola Irto, and Mendicino himself participated in the presentation.
A bottom-up project for the young people who remain
«My candidacy – began Mendicino – comes from below and from the territories, from a group of young people. It was not dropped from above but was born in Calabria at the service of the party and of the youth without currents. We are a group that has decided to spend itself and get involved to look at a Calabria that thinks of young people and above all young people who intend to stay. Protagonism and participation: an independent youth movement. We – added Mendicino – must be self-sufficient. We need to change Calabria as a political choice and it is the one from which we intend to start again.”
The PD’s commitment to the independence of youth
In turn, Irto remarked how «the youth team must work independently. We have invested a lot to finally have a well-organized youth system again. We are in a region where many young people are leaving and therefore it is complex to find boys and girls who get involved in politics but we have managed to create a rooted youth group with a management group that not only wants to stay in Calabria, but wants to reorganize hope, relaunch politics, be there, build a different and better future in this land.”
Current political news: the no to the referendum on justice
Irto also focused on some current political issues, including the referendum on justice and the tensions within the Democratic Party in some areas such as Cosenza: «Our compass is the referendum. Territorial events will be discussed in the bodies set up in the coming weeks. For us the important battle is the referendum. This reform – concluded the secretary of the Calabria Democratic Party – does not improve justice, it does not improve trials. Investments are needed, but this proposal is useless as it only splits the CSM and destroys a constitutional counterweight.”