In the third and last episode of our Focus dedicated to the candidate women debuting to the regional council, we heard the voice of two Cosentine: Marilena Lanzino (university professor, Roberta’s sister, raped and killed in the summer of 1988) who runs with the center -right of Roberto Occhiuto in the list of us moderates in the North district, and Veronica Buffone, of the M5S, always in the field with the progressive coalition led by Pasquale. Tridico.
Here are the five questions that, also in this third and last pre-election deepening, we have placed two debutants on the field for a place in the regional council on general themes but also specific to experience in politics for a woman.
1
2. Few women in the regional council, especially in the central and southern circumscriptions. What do you think of the gender issue also linked to representation?
3 How to convince people to go to vote?
4. What are the themes on which it will commit more decision if elected?
5. How do you imagine Calabria in the coming years and what contribution do you think you can give this change?
Marilena Lanzino’s answers
1. The answer to this question is triple. I present myself as a woman and as a professional: for years I have been doing my teacher work with the University of Calabria with passion and I feel the need to put this experience at the service of the community. I chose to apply in the coalition in support of Roberto Occhiuto because I believe he has shown with the facts of possessing a clear political vision and the ability to administer passing from words to action. I am convinced that in Calabria a path of non -occasional and superficial change was necessary, but structural, difficult and long -term. This process has started and must not stop. And, inside the coalition, I apply with us moderate, in line with the tradition of my very active dad and my family; In line with the sense recalled by the etymology of the word that refuses excesses, even minutes and, in moderation, listen, propose, compare. In the regional council I intend to bring the values that have always characterized my way of being, in personal life as in the professional one: the sense of responsibility, dedication and passion towards any commitment made, the authentic attention to others and, of course, the skills that I have gained during my experience.
2. I firmly believe in women’s right to representation. I consider the presence of women on the lists and, subsequently, in decision -making places as a question of justice and democratic balance. I am convinced that female thought has a political value of great thickness and that the contribution of women is essential to give concrete answers to problems.
3 To combat it, concrete gestures and consistency are needed.
4. My commitment will be oriented to themes that I consider fundamental for the future of Calabria. The formation, in particular, is the red thread that combines many of the problems and opportunities of our region. Investigating in training means, first of all, to guarantee young solid, innovative and spent skills. But it also means creating the conditions for these skills to be dispersed: school and university must dialogue with the world of work and support the birth of new and modern companies, especially in the internal areas that risk depopulation. Another great theme is that of welfare, which cannot be considered a residual sector, but the beating heart of a solidarity community. I consider it fundamental to support associations and volunteering which, in Calabria, represent a precious resource, often capable of filling institutional voids with passion and commitment. Adequate policies must enhance the role, providing concrete tools and supports, because only in this way does the welfare really become inclusive and effective.
5 In recent years, a path of renewal has started that has allowed Calabria to no longer be the “shrimp” that she gets back, but a region that begins to take steps forward. This path should not be interrupted: it must be consolidated, strengthened and made irreversible. In other words, I see a region that, although aware of difficulties, chooses the path of concreteness, responsibility and participation. My contribution I hope it may be to participate in this path with consistency, competence and a constant commitment to the service of the community.
Veronica Buffone’s responses
1. I want to bring my experience as an administrator to the region. When working on the territories, in close contact with the real problems of people, it is easy to know how to give priority and have a choice of choice on what really matters and what does not. Increased poverty, the difficulty in guaranteeing the right to living, the difficulty in paying health visits or health migration are my daily struggles. I want to bring a single great principle: people first of all.
2. In 2021 only 6 women out of 30 councilors were elected in Calabria: a step forward compared to the past, but still far from a real representation. And the data becomes even more serious in the central and southern circumscriptions, where the female presence is almost absent. This shows that it is not just a regulatory, but above all cultural question: politics continues to remain a place built and thought of human scale. As a 5 -star movement we believe that democracy cannot be said to be accomplished without full gender equality.
3. This election campaign has put me in front of the hard confrontation with those who today feel disappointed by politics. The institutions must listen to citizens, analyze their outburst and make their instances of the territories their own. A policy made of commercials, far from real problems and focused on individual categories makes people remove people. I am simply asking for confidence and in return I assure maximum commitment and availability, as I have always done. Many told me “this time I will go to vote because she listened to me and understood me”. We are doing, Pasquale Tridico in the first place, a campaign between people, in the squares, on the territories throughout Calabria and the message is clear: we are present and we want to bring politics back to its true purpose. We do not abandon the territories, create comparison and invite active citizenship.
4. My priorities are social and health, because a society is measured by how the most fragile claims: people with disabilities, families in poverty, those who need dignity and rights. From councilor to welfare in Cosenza I see the consequences of the wrong choices of the right every day: there are no housing policies, an effective assistance system and concrete supports for families. Next to this, I also think of the safety of the territory: Calabria is at high hydrogeological risk, but without prevention and aid to the municipalities there can be no effective civil protection. A central commitment for me concerns women’s rights. For this reason, I consider it a priority to guarantee stable resources and real support for anti -violence centers. Finally, animal welfare: stray dogs is a plague that must be faced with serious sterilization and awareness plans.
5. First of all I imagine Calabria with Pasquale Tridico President: a region that finally knows how to put the work, rights and development center, therefore a Calabria that does not force young people to leave, which enhances women and skills, which invests in public health, environment and innovation.