«I hereby wish to officially communicate my resignation from the position of municipal councilor. This decision was not easy, but it was taken following recent political choices that do not represent me, in view of the next local elections.” This was announced in a note by Floriana Mungari, a majority municipal councilor elected on a civic list in support of the mayor of Crotone Vincenzo Voce.
It is the second defection in the space of a few days, after that of the councilor for social services Filly Pollinzi, who is registered in the majority that administers the Municipality of Crotone due to the turn to the right of the mayor who has re-nominated himself at the helm of the institution with the support of the centre-right coalition.
In recent days, endorsements have come from the Calabrian governor Roberto Occhiuto, the regional and provincial coordinator of Forza Italia Francesco Cannizzaro and Sergio Ferrari. A turning point, that of Voce, which however is not looked upon favorably by several exponents of its majority while to complicate things, on the eve of the administrative vote in May, came today the investigation by the prosecutor’s office into a round of public procurement in the Province of Crotone which was allegedly directed towards professional friends by the provincial councilor Fabio Manica who is also a municipal councilor of Forza Italia and has been an open supporter of the Voce administration for some time now.
In his dual role as municipal and provincial councillor, Manica was the trait d’union between the mayor of Crotone and the president of the Province Sergio Ferrari, a position which Ferrari himself later renounced after his election as regional councilor but not before handing over the reins of the intermediate body to Manica, appointing him as acting president. In the event of Voce’s re-election as mayor of Crotone per Manica, the position of vice mayor would have already been ready. A circumstance that now seems difficult to achieve, especially since Voce felt the need to issue a note that has all the appearance of distancing itself, where it specifies that the Municipality of Crotone is in no way involved in the investigation against Manica and at the same time warns that «in view of the next local elections, there is a need for a serious and in-depth reflection on the methods and conditions with which to present oneself to the judgment of the voters, in compliance with the principles of responsibility, transparency and institutional credibility».