Gualtieri is making a fresh start in Reggio Emilia (with Gentiloni), but is staying away from the primaries

Rome. The capital is setting its sights on Reggio Emilia, in the sense that Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, will be attending the national ‘Festa dell’Unità’ tomorrow to discuss the future of the European Union, agricultural policies, sustainability, the rule of law and development with former Prime Minister and European Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. Discussion of the centre-left primaries, which are at the heart of the debate, will be difficult to avoid (even though the mayor, at the Rimini Meeting a few days ago, quashed any speculation that he might be a wild card in the broader political arena with a “I am focused on standing for re-election in Rome”). Meanwhile, from Rome, the mayor responds in La Repubblica to Corrado Augias on the effects of the climate crisis on the capital, listing the measures taken in recent years (from work on the aqueduct to the establishment of a dedicated office, from the ‘Heat Plan’ to energy communities and the planting of new trees) and quoting Jonathan Safran Foer: individual responsibility is necessary, but it is not enough. In other words, “no one”, says Gualtieri, “can tackle a challenge of this scale alone: neither an individual, nor a city, nor a country. We must do it together”. And whilst the climate will be a key priority for the mayor in his bid for a second term, attention is currently focused on some very concrete and local issues: the reopening of the Capannelle racecourse, scheduled for tomorrow; speeding up the projects for the new stadiums for Roma and Lazio in Trigoria (awaiting final approval) and in Formello (the process for granting public interest status is getting under way); the handover of new social housing units at Porto Fluviale, following the conversion of a squatted building using PNRR funds (a project that had also attracted the interest of the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo), work on the final Metro C stations at Piazza Apollodoro and Farnesina (which are set to connect northern Rome) and future meetings with volunteers from ‘Per Roma con Gualtieri’, a network and platform which, following the ‘door-to-door’ model that led to the victory of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has long been laying the groundwork for the upcoming election campaign.