Gianni Santucci for the “Corriere della Sera“
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 7
“Soon I will fall back into oblivion.” Don’t be pessimistic. «Far from it. I have to be mayor, and there is little talk of a mayor who does his job well. “
It will begin today, with the “handover”. The Municipality of Lodi already knows him: he has been a city councilor since 2017. “In that assembly I was the youngest.” Even the most voted among the elected, at twenty. It is too early to say that he will embody the new soul of the Lombard demos.
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 4
Certainly from the most famous province in the world at the beginning of the pandemic, from the “feud” that belonged to the current minister Lorenzo Guerini (mayor of Lodi for two terms between 2005 and 2012), today emerges the determined and clean look with which the 25 year old Andrea Furegato beat the outgoing mayor (Lega).
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 5
He is the first to escape the symbolism from the titles of the «new face of the Democratic Party»: «I certainly don’t want to give myself a more important role than I have. Of course, I hope to be part of a generation that wants to get involved and engage in institutions ».
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 3
Classical high school, animator at the oratory, militant in the Young Democrats, graduated in Finance from the Catholic University of Milan, now an employee of a large bank. Politics is a family tradition.
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 2
The mother Roberta Vallacchi is the provincial secretary of the Democratic Party; his father Enrico, who passed away at the age of 52 in 2012, had been an architect, well known in the Eni group in which he had worked for years, councilor in a municipality in the province.
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 6
«My family – says the new mayor – has always paid attention to political life and a strong social commitment. It was a favorable humus for my passion and my path ».
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 1
His mom, smiling, said that he will soon be going to live alone. He comments with kindness and confidentiality: «Right now I am facing a life path like all people of my age, but first of all I am taking care of being operative as mayor, then we will calmly think about the house. My private life is not my priority now. “
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 10
Private life has also been sport, and Andrea Furegato’s sport is judo, up to the black belt, a detail that a few minutes after the election has ignited the journalistic fantasy about the “judoka mayor”. «Ah yes, the story of judo that is talked about a lot …», he smiles.
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 9
Apart from the slogan, is there anything deeper? «The principles that apply on the mat, we try to enforce them in everyday life, have a formative value. Judo teaches first of all two aspects: on the one hand, the best use of energy; on the other, that we progress together. And then judo teaches patience, it shows that you can fall and you shouldn’t take it out on your opponent, and finally the fact that you never win with the impetus, but with strength and with your head ».
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 8
If a sort of moral program derives from sport, and from studies derives the way of looking at reality (“I have always had an interest in economics because it is a fundamental lens for reading changes and dynamics of societies”), politics is a familiar and party set.
andrea furegato mayor of lodi 11
To whom is a young dem looking today who wants to “say something left”? Blair, Obama? “Like many, I followed the political history of Barack Obama with interest and deep admiration, but I feel like a Democrat, son of the Democratic Party, and of a season who wanted to give a sense of renewal of political dynamics, and wants to go beyond certain lines of demarcation that were schematic decades ago. Of course, first of all I will be a man of institutions for Lodi ».
As planned, Mayor Furegato’s Lodi will have to be more “supportive and inclusive, sustainable, efficient and innovative”. What is the day when he is convinced to embark on the electoral race? “There was not a decisive moment, but a path of confrontation, elaboration, reflection”. Little impetus. A lot of patience. Like on the tatami.
(Carlo d’Elia collaborated)
