Armando Hyerace, provincial secretary of the Democratic Party, protagonist of a harsh remote exchange with Cateno De Luca. And immediately after that back and forth came the announcement that Federico Basile will be the candidate for mayor. The possibility of early elections also remains open. And what does the Democratic Party do in the face of this shock?
«Don’t panic, I would say. We certainly don’t let Cateno De Luca dictate our agenda, neither politics nor the times. We, for our part, must make the most of some mistakes of the past, above all that of having arrived about a month before the vote without a candidate for mayor, as happened in 2022. Compared to the centre-right we have an advantage: there is a coalition that has in fact been established over time, the battle against the Bridge has united us, which in reality is not a battle “against”, but in favor of a different idea of development”.
The famous wide field, united by the no to the Bridge and then?
«Constant relationships have been built with all the parties and movements, and this is a political heritage that you then find. The point is that regardless of the possibility of early elections, an opposition that wants to aspire to govern must start in time with an alternative project and candidate. It was already in the cards that at this stage, between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, the issues were to come to a head, the announcement of South calls North did not change anything”.
How should the issues come to a head? Primary, or?
«We will decide the method together, as I said we find ourselves with an important wealth of relationships, we will find the right solution in a calm manner. I don’t know if there will be coalition primaries, perhaps a figure representing everyone will be found, but we will evaluate this together.”
By when will the mayoral candidate have to be decided, in your opinion?
«I can’t give dates, but everyone is aware that the times must be rapid. Of course, if we were to go to vote in May 2026, the candidate would necessarily have to be identified at the beginning of the year, but I say that, regardless, the sooner we do it the better, because we can organize the work in a better way and put the current candidate in ideal conditions”.
Yet De Luca makes statements that suggest that the center-left’s door is not completely closed against him.
«He says it to create confusion. I reiterate that there is no dialogue with us, at any level. Maybe he will be angry with the centre-right and this opening of the electoral campaign will help him sit at the table of that coalition, at which, moreover, he already seems to be sitting comfortably. He says he doesn’t want to negotiate, but in fact De Luca is the first to negotiate.”
Are you worried about possible early voting? The feeling is that, in terms of moving ahead in building a project, not much has been built in these two and a half years.
«We pay for the fact that we were the only ones who opposed it in these two and a half years. I agree that something should have started to be built from the day after the 2022 elections. As the Democratic Party we have had a long and complex congressional phase, but now we are starting to think about everything, also taking advantage of the fact that we will vote in Barcellona, Milazzo and Giardini. I repeat, then, don’t panic. Also because Mayor Basile should be the one to justify this early vote, if necessary. The only sense would be a political game with the centre-right.”
But De Luca ruled it out, linking this hypothesis to the outcome of an internal verification within the municipal administration.
«I repeat, the others would have the problem, whoever set up this sort of theater did it for their own purposes, it’s an entirely internal discussion among others. And if it is true that early voting would only be held in the event of a negative opinion on the Administration, then they themselves would be admitting that things are not going well. The truth is that on the one hand De Luca says that Messina must not get involved in political games, but on the other it is he who is the one who lets it get in.”