“I’m Perego (from Cremango) and I know exactly what this town needs.” Interview

“Would my double surname prevent me from going out to speak to people in working-class neighbourhoods?” Matteo Perego (from Cremnago), currently the mayoral candidate for Forza Italia (though, they say, he could represent the entire coalition in November), raises his voice slightly whilst speaking to Il Foglio. An extra beat, a slight acceleration in his otherwise Olympian calm. Not that he’s indignant, but surprised: “It’s a truly short-sighted remark. Building a relationship with people, with citizens, depends on the willingness to provide answers to their questions. It doesn’t depend on where you live or where you come from. Direct this line of argument at the Left, not at me. They are the ‘radical chic’ who have divided the city centre from the suburbs. I, on the other hand, have the privilege of speaking to everyone and of having worked for nine years with the people of the Ministry of Defence, who are ordinary men and women, certainly not people who consider themselves part of the elite.” End of the disturbance – a very slight one.

Perego is a calm man; he expresses his ideas at a brisk but never frantic pace. “What feedback have I received since the start of my campaign? Firstly, people have no confidence in this administration and would like to be able to rebuild a relationship with their mayor. A relationship that broke down when Sala denied the security problem, saying it was merely a perception. After the New Year’s Eve violence (which Il Foglio was the only publication to report on, ed.), he reiterated the value of inclusion and now claims it is the government’s responsibility. People no longer have any trust at all.” So what next? “So let’s get the basics right. There are problems with poor security, but also with rubbish, a lack of willingness to integrate, and transport. In Corvetto, it’s hard to find Italians. That wouldn’t be an issue – just think of Chinatown in New York – provided it creates value for the city. But that’s not the case here.” But on this issue of security, don’t you think Carmelo Burgio is more… “skilled”? “I’ve been dealing with security for nine years, using concrete solutions, not slogans. Let me give some examples: a law to transform the local police into a city police force, with greater powers and responsibilities. More technology, which means more CCTV cameras but also drones. I don’t see what the complications could be in using drones to monitor city parks, for example.” But is it true that if Burgio takes votes away from you, the race becomes tougher? “Burgio is someone I know, a senior general in our armed forces. Our relationship isn’t the problem. The issue is that we believe the traditional framework of the majority is the right one.”

And what do you think of Maurizio Lupi and Silvia Sardone? “They are excellent politicians; the centre-right is fortunate to have people so devoted to their city, who love it so much.” Let’s move on to the real issues: urban planning. “Housing, along with security, is the biggest problem facing citizens. We must immediately monitor all unused properties owned by the local authority. Social housing must be complemented by subsidised housing: 70 per cent must be priced at least a third below market value. We must enable the working classes to access the housing market.” Carlotta Cossutta, Lorenzo Pacini and others say quite openly that private rents must be capped and co-operatives favoured over other developers. “But no, partnership between the private and public sectors is essential. And we cannot distort the market when it comes to rents. We must enable workers to have a home without measures like these. And then there are the students to consider: there are 200,000 of them. What are we waiting for to make Milan the Italian Palo Alto? Finally: we must stop thinking of the city as comprising nine municipalities and instead incorporate the neighbouring towns: those living in Buccinasco, Rozzano and Segrate cannot feel as though they are in a different city. The Metropolitan City, of which Milan is the lead city, should truly be something with a concrete purpose.” The Palestinian-Israeli issue and the twinning with Tel Aviv: “We must not punish peoples for the choices of their governments, which by definition are temporary. Governments come and go, but the people remain. So no to cancelling the twinning with Tel Aviv and with the Israeli people.”

They say the battle for Milan is already lost: “For the left?”. Joking aside, the polls seem serious. “What matters more than the polls is people’s desire for change. It’s an unstoppable tide, made all the stronger by the fact that they’re criticising one another on the left, proving that they’ve made glaring mistakes.” Is a challenger like Calabresi better, or someone like Majorino? “They’re the same. Two sides of the same coin. They both criticise those with whom they’d like to govern.”