Add the Gazzetta del Sud as a source
With a long letter published on his social channels, the new mayor of Reggio Calabria Francesco Cannizzaro addressed the citizens immediately after the official proclamation, entrusting the people of Reggio his first reflections as mayor.
«The honor you have granted me represents much more than an electoral victory»
«The honor you have given me with your trust – which went well beyond my own expectations – represents much more than an electoral victory; it is an enormous assignment of duties, which turns into a solemn commitment that I assume towards each of you, for the achievement of a single great objective: to change this splendid piece of Earth once and for all, giving it the centrality and prestige it deserves, thus proving myself worthy of your expectations and the hopes you have placed in me”.
«I will be everyone’s Mayor»
For Cannizzaro, with the proclamation “the time of political competition definitively closes and that of concrete responses, of work, of constructive confrontation between the parties opens, beyond colours, sides and affiliations”.
«I will be the Mayor of everyone, of those who supported me and of those who have ideas different from mine; of those who made different choices at the ballot box and, above all, of those who decided not to go to the polls at all.”
The mayor also underlines the need to “rekindle in them the pride of being from Reggio, the spirit of identity and community which, in recent years, has been lost”.
«I will not be a single man in charge»
In his message, Cannizzaro highlights the value of teamwork and the role of elected administrators in the area.
«I speak in the plural because in this journey I will not be a single man in command, the protagonist of a one-man-show; I will be the captain of a great team, a team that will have to identify itself with collective results, not with individual triumphs.”
The challenge of a «Reggio 3.0»
Looking to the future, the mayor relaunches the prospect of a city capable of changing its face in the coming years.
«I would like to be considered, then, the mayor of a Reggio 2.0, or rather, I would say 3.0, given that our first objective – as said during the presentation of our Manifesto – is to reach 2030 having already started a profound transformation of Reggio, leaving a precise imprinting, a recognizable and lasting trace, capable of orienting the future of the City and projecting it towards a new season of development and protagonism, in Southern Italy and in the Mediterranean, making it become that famous “Monte Carlo of the South” which I have often mentioned for years now.”
«Reggio can only be saved through community participation»
The new mayor therefore calls on citizens to play an active role in the path that awaits the city.
«To achieve all this – and this may seem strange to you to read – I absolutely need you. We need you. Because Reggio cannot be saved by one person alone, nor by the best possible government team; Reggio can only be saved through the participation of the community, only if every single person from Reggio believes in it, shaking off resignation and defeatism.”
«We believe in it all the way»
In the final passage of the letter, Cannizzaro invites the city to look forward with confidence.
«Let’s believe it. Let’s believe it all the way. Let us begin this new journey together, with pride and trust and with the awareness that the future of Reggio depends on what we are able to build day after day, together.
Now, Reggio.
Now it’s our turn!