Season’s greetings, but also a political-administrative balance sheet and a determined look to the future. It was a meeting full of meaning that the mayor of Rende, Sandro Principe, held a few days before Christmas with the municipal staff, in the traditional end-of-year meeting.
“This is the first Christmas we have spent together”, began the mayor, recalling the path that led him to lead the city. A path which, as he reiterated, had not been planned: «As you know and as I have said several times, I would not have wanted to run, but the duty to oppose the proposal of the single municipality, recklessly put forward by some friends of the centre-right, pushed me to take the field».
Precisely on the topic of administrative reforms, Principe wanted to make a clear distinction: “I don’t agree with the single municipality, as I have demonstrated, but I am in favor of the Union of Municipalities.” A concept accompanied by a concrete announcement: the draft Statute of the Union is now completed and will be sent shortly to the mayors of Castrolibero and Cosenza, opening a new phase of institutional dialogue in the urban area.
The mayor then retraced the months of the referendum campaign, defining them as a moment of listening and verifying the state of the city: «I was able to see the closeness of people with positions different from mine, I was able to meet the citizens, listen to their requests and verify the problems. I noticed that the city was no longer what it once was.”
Hence the decision to run: «I was convinced to lead the city in recent years». A choice that Principe interprets as a profound personal commitment: «I interpret this popular feeling as a mission. If I’m rigorous, if I demand, if sometimes I exaggerate it’s because that’s how I am and I like to move forward. For me it’s a mission.”
Addressing municipal staff, the mayor invited everyone to feel an integral part of this journey: «When a citizen comes to present a problem we must enter into the perspective of providing a service. And of course: this must not motivate illegal actions.” The objective, he added, is “to study to best respond to citizens’ requests and to say no only when it really is not possible, always serving in compliance with the law”.
During the meeting, Principe addressed a moving greeting to three former first citizens “who had followed me and now precede me”: Umberto Bernaudo, Franco Casciaro and Emilio Chiappetta.
A mention also of the upcoming events, starting with the New Year’s Concert in the historic center, “a tradition that is resumed, as it should be in a city that cares a lot about its roots”. There was no shortage of references to the critical issues that are still open: “We lost the Pnrr: think of what we could have done with those funds.”
The final message, however, was an invitation to serenity and to restart: «Celebrate with your families: from January 2nd onwards we must return fully recharged».
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