September 2020, Year XII, n. 9
Cateno De Luca
The Mayor in the Trenches
Telos: Every time someone talks about the direct election of the Prime Minister, people use the very evocative expression “Mayor of Italy”.
So, is it true that Mayors have, in the administration of their own city, more power than the Prime Minister has today?
Cateno De Luca: The first element, which for me is essential, is citizens’ perception of the Mayor as opposed to the Prime Minister. This is important because the Mayor, by definition, is down in the trenches and is a local bulwark of the State, regardless of the size of the municipality they govern. So, the Mayor is perceived to be closer, more direct, and this probably also lends legitimacy to the Mayor having more direct powers and acting directly ...more
Editorial
There are a lot of things you can say about Cateno De Luca, the Mayor of Messina since June 2018. One thing you can’t say is that he goes unnoticed.
Nor that he has any qualms about asserting his rights before citizens – something almost taken for granted – as well as the state government. The Covid-19 crisis is a perfect example.
De Luca ended up in the national, and international, spotlight because of his extremely personal yet effective management of the crisis and lockdown.
In a Region where the spread of the virus was minimal, De Luca did everything he could to ensure the people of Messina were strictly observing the government decrees on staying at home ...more
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