Castaldi “The Regionals are going badly because at a local level we are little known”

Antonio Fraschilla

Roma — Gianluca Castaldi, you have just placed your mandate as coordinator of the 5 Stars in Abruzzo in the hands of the president of the Movement Giuseppe Conte. Did you perhaps regret having said that you could still win when the results were going in a clear direction?

«But no, I hoped for it because the polls showed us in recovery anyway. The same polls that a few months ago saw us 20 points behind Marsilio. This is why I called for caution during the counting.”

In the end he had to raise the white flag. But why didn’t the Movement have a good result in its region as it had happened in Sardinia just a few weeks ago?

«Look, the list got the same votes in Abruzzo and Sardinia: only that there we had the candidate who was the driving force behind the Movement. But with a clear head I say: the list data is not that different. However, the real problem of the Movement is that we are unable to gather consensus in the area in the administrative and regional elections.”

But the Movement has been in politics for years now and you have a ruling class at all levels, from Parliament to the Municipalities. Why doesn’t your work turn into consensus?

«Because we don’t have any known people. You have one on the other end of the phone, because I have been involved in politics for years and am also known on a national level. For example, in the Movement we had two outgoing regional councilors who had votes, but due to the limit of two mandates they were not eligible for re-election and therefore we got into difficulty.”

PSo for you, the crux are the well-known names that are missing from the Movement? And one is worth one no longer counts?

«It is also a question of rooting and we must work on this front. The party is creating territorial groups which are necessary because people are asking for interventions in small municipalities, to read the resolutions, to understand what is happening in the territory. Until this happens we will always be in difficulty. And then I remember that the only regional ones where we did well, reaching 20 percent, were those of Sicily, when political elections were also held.”

But in Sicily we voted at the end of 2017 and in the political elections in 2018.

«I wanted to capture the difference that exists for us between local and political elections. And then I remember that in regional and municipal elections it is worth trusting the individual. Here next to me, as we speak, is a friend of mine who was in the League, then in the Brothers of Italy, then she changed again, but she always got the votes because the people choose her.”

Why his gesture of resigning the mandate?

«I think it’s right that those who have roles have burdens and honors. When things go well we need to take some credit, when things go badly it’s right to show our face. Although, I repeat, the data is not that bad in Abruzzo. And in any case, speaking of roots, go and look at the spending resolutions of the Marsilio council before the vote: when faced with certain systems it is difficult to fight on equal terms. More than one is worth one.”