It seems like a bolt from the blue, but the sensational decision was made in the previous weeks: with a video on social media the president of the Region, Roberto Occhiuto, announced his resignation and simultaneous re-nomination on the evening of July 31st. Waking up in Calabria on August 1st is that of a post-hangover shock. «In a few weeks, the Calabrians will decide the future of Calabria, not others», explains Occhiuto. The decision is linked to the investigation by the Catanzaro Prosecutor’s Office which sees him under investigation for corruption, but what pushed him to resign was the attempt to block the works being carried out in the region. «Who would want to stop them, the judiciary? No – says Occhiuto – I don’t have anything against the judiciary. I won’t change my mind: I have always said that in a complicated region like Calabria the judges must do their job peacefully. On the other hand, I have clarified everything, I have nothing to fear from the judicial investigation.” Occhiuto’s anger, therefore, is not towards the prosecutors but towards «all these second-rate politicians, who in politics have never achieved anything for Calabria in many years. I’m angry with these haters, with these people angry with life, who root for Calabria’s failure.”
Thus began a lightning electoral campaign, in the midst of the summer season
The resignation was formalized on 5 August, the last session of the Regional Council took place on 8 August, and the date of the elections to be held in October was set on 10 August. These are more than hectic days even at the turn of August, politics cannot go on holiday this year: on 21 August Pasquale Tridico’s candidacy for the presidency for the broad field is announced. And among the candidates for the Regional Council there are the mayor of Reggio, Giuseppe Falcomatà, and many other local administrators. On August 22, Occhiuto also leaves the position of health commissioner.
Regarding the investigation that led to the sensational resignation, the governor was listened to for 4 hours by the deputy prosecutor Giancarlo Novelli and the deputy Domenico Assumma together with the men of the Guardia di Finanza. It is the president himself who speaks to the journalists: «I am satisfied, I feel relieved because I think I have clarified everything and therefore I am confident in a quick archiving. I thank the Prosecutor’s Office, because I asked to be interrogated; It was my right to ask, but it wasn’t their duty to give me that chance. I’m happy because I finally got questioned. I feel relieved.”
Occhiuto wins the “bet” and leads the center-right to victory
A large victory, like the one hoped for (and dreamed of) by Roberto Occhiuto. The leader of Forza Italia in Calabria on 6 October becomes the first regional president to win reconfirmation for a second mandate. It is a worry-free success for the centre-right, and it is a clear defeat for the broad camp led by Pasquale Tridico, the “father” of the Citizenship Income who returned to Calabria to attempt a complicated comeback from the start. Occhiuto therefore returns to center stage after his sudden farewell, after learning that he was being investigated for corruption by the Catanzaro Prosecutor’s Office, and the re-proposal of his candidacy. An “all in” that ultimately proved successful. «It was the most intense, tiring, but also the most beautiful electoral campaign», Occhiuto never tires of repeating, who in the following weeks will compose the new Council and will also begin to be “noticed” on a national scale within his party, Forza Italia.