24 hours after the polls closed, the city continues to talk about the electoral result which gave Giovanni Calabria a large victory, which was never really put into question during the counting. A practically unhindered march for the new mayor, capable of leading the challenger Francesco Cardone by over 1,700 preferences, in a session that immediately clarified from the first sections what the new face of the city administration would be.
The vote, which continued until late at night, instead kept dozens of aspiring city councilors in suspense. That was, after all, the only real game still open. In fact, if the race for the tricolor band never gave the feeling of being able to be overturned, the climate experienced around the preferences of the candidates for the Council was different, followed vote after vote between phone calls, continuous updates and tense expectations.
The new city council
In the end, the most important political fact, in addition to Calabria’s victory, is represented by the new composition of the chamber that will take office in the coming weeks. Mimmo La Capria returns to the majority: after the separation from the previous administrative experience led by the former mayor Ranuccio, today he is once again the protagonist alongside Giovanni Calabria. Ilenia Misale and Antonino Surace from the “Palmi Migliore” list also join him. For “Together for Palmi” there are Carmelo Melara, Luigi Scarfone and Martina Ioculano, while “Citizen Participation” will bring Francesco Fraccalvieri and Valentina Ferraro to the classroom. Pasquale Sanfioti and Sina Bruno of Movimento Faro complete the picture.
On the other side of the barricade there is Francesco Cardone, who despite his personal defeat still manages to bring a large group of councilors into the chamber. However, the one to take center stage in terms of preferences was the outgoing acting mayor Solidea Schipilliti, who was the most voted candidate overall with 697 preferences. Also joining are Giuseppe Magazzù and Denise Iacovo, outgoing councilors, Gianluca Spampinato, outgoing city councilor (all from the “Cardone Mayor” list), and Roberto Filippone from the “There’s no going back” list.
Having archived the long night of counting, attention now shifts to the next institutional steps. Giovanni Calabria will take the oath before the Court in a few days and immediately afterwards will have to untie the knot of the new council. The selection of all councilors has already begun and among the names circulating with greater insistence is that of Salvatore Celi, councilor of the Ranuccio council who left the majority last January and who could be the deputy mayor.
The spotlight will also be on the role that Gianmarco Oliveri, secretary of the Movimento Agire, may have, among the most active protagonists of the campaign. Then there are the outsiders who played a role during this electoral campaign, such as the young Armando Melara.
Names that for the moment are hypotheses waiting to be denied or confirmed. In the next few hours Calabria will be called upon to find the synthesis between political balance, representation of the lists and requests of the territory. After such a large victory, the most delicate phase begins right now.