On the one hand, the “Ti Amo Sicilia” project, which is continuing and which will have its official baptism on January 18th in Caltagirone (“but I’m not the guide”, assures Cateno De Luca). On the other, a social brawl that has very little to do with love, unless we are referring to a fleeting love, which ended in the short space of a few weeks. A marriage of convenience, which brought together the De Luca-Basile duo and the then center-right “rebel”, the Northern League member Nino Germanà, which three and a half years later turns into a brawl on Facebook.
The fuse was lit by Cateno De Luca himself, late on Monday evening, having fun creating “discord” in the centre-right: “I received this message: ‘We have the first candidate for mayor of Messina, lawyer Carlo Autru Ryolo, imposed on the center-right table by the Hon. Pino Galluzzo.’ First case of a “possible” mayoral candidate announced by an opposing leader, but with De Luca this and more happens. There is not even time to understand whether the tip-off has been announced by De Luca is true or not – we say so, there is some truth, the name of Carlo Autru Ryolo is one of the “area” civics that emerged from some internal reasoning within the centre-right, but no more than this, at the moment -, because the focus shifts to one of De Luca’s favorite targets: the former ally Nino Germanà.
Germanà on the attack
Who, incidentally, remains another of the possible candidates for mayor of the centre-right coalition. «I called Ninittu Germanà – De Luca provokes him – to recommend him not to make jokes and to support this authoritative candidacy». And Germanà is not long in coming, with a post that instead calls into question the mayor Federico Basile: «Dear Cateno, watch out for the variables: I see a lot of them around. And even if you are a good player, this time your ear trembles like in Marseille. Federico is glued to his chair with the Bostik and, even if you ask him to resign, at most he will give you a raspberry. But I who know you know that you won’t do it, because you know well that you will lose. The centre-right candidate has it. And it will be a big surprise. See you in 2027.” A post that is “invaded” by supporters of both sides, and which sparks a vitriolic back and forth.
Basile responds several times
First De Luca writes (“they said you were dead in 2022 and I resurrected you”), then Basile replies, with an all too “Deluchian” style (“you are the master of those who are attached with the bostik to the chair that is handed down from grandfather, father and son”), then Germanà replies again: “The city has the right to hear from the voice of its mayor whether it is true that he intends to resign to go to the early vote. It’s clear that it’s easier to throw her into the fray, unlike you, who are mayor also thanks to my support, I ran seven times, four of which with preferences.”
And then the mayor replies again: «Please don’t be pathetic! I was not elected through you, perhaps you were re-elected to the Senate thanks to the victory of my coalition in which you were irrelevant, or rather harmful I would say. We put a viper in our bosom and at the first opportunity you came out naturally, betraying the pact. If you feel “electorally badass”, dear Germanà, take to the field in person.” Definitely a very un-Basile style, and more reminiscent of certain De Luca-style lunges.
In the background there are several elements. The first: how much and how will the famous “Liberation Government” that De Luca is working on intersect with local political dynamics? The second: are early elections still a topic and, if so, when will a knot that cannot become a pawn in a role-playing game be untied? And in this context, in what terms will the “others” – from civic movements to the center-left – decide to be protagonists and not spectators? The feeling is that the best (or worse) is yet to come…
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