The administrative vote in L’Aquila has a national relevance given that the city battered by the tragedy of the earthquake 13 years ago is, together with Genoa, Palermo and Catanzaro, among the four Italian regional capitals at the polls in this electoral round which involves about 9 millions of Italians.
An assessment made by many also in the light of the “brand”: unfortunately the capital of Abruzzo is known throughout the country and in the world for the devastating earthquake that caused 309 deaths, 1500 injured, sowing destruction, and the proximity to Rome, approximately 100 kilometers. The centrality of L’Aquila was confirmed in the long electoral campaign and an authentic parade of big nationals in politics and the government in support of the four candidates: the outgoing mayor and re-nominated for the center-right, Pierluigi Biondi, 47, the deputy of the Democratic Party Stefania Pezzopane, (62), head of the center-left coalition, the Abruzzo regional councilor of the Legnini civic list President, Americo Di Benedetto, (54), former Pd today leader of the civic group Il Passo Possibile of the center-left area, and Simona Volpe, (53), lawyer and manager in a multinational, candidate of another civic list, Liber L’Aquila.
And tonight the leader, Giorgia Meloni, will close the dances for Fratelli d’Italia with an expected rally in support of Biondi’s confirmation. In the past few weeks, Enrico Letta, Matteo Salvini, Carlo Calenda, Antonio Tajani, the ministers Andrea Orlando, Roberto Speranza, Renato Brunetta, Mara Carfagna, and Massimo Garavaglia and even the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri have arrived. In this scenario of great national attention, a decisive game is being played for the future of L’Aquila, grappling over the next five years with the decisive step for the infrastructural reconstruction but above all for the social and economic one: to achieve the goal the new mayor of the Aquila will have huge funds and unrepeatable opportunities: according to an estimate in the next five years the availability will be around 5 billion euros, 700 million per year for a total of 3.5 billion for the completion of the private post earthquake reconstruction and a strong impulse in the public one, about 1.8 billion of the complementary fund of the Pnrr reserved for the crater of the earthquake, places which lack the relevant share of the Pnrr. Five years ago Di Benedetto clashed for the center-left, and Biondi who won, sensationally, in the ballot, after having clearly lost the first round, 47.7% compared to 35.84% for the center-right.
Source: Ansa
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