VicenzaPiù - Notizie, Inchieste, Analisi su Vicenza e provincia

The race for mayor of London, my native city, is hotting up. Two top candidates are Boris Johnson, incumbent Tory, and the former maverick Labour mayor he replaced, Ken Livingstone. As befits a capital city, both are colourful, though not coloured. Livingstone's best remembered, and now generally accepted, change was the introduction of a tax for cars entering central London. Of course it's not a magic solution, but within limits it works. Money to spend on public transport and slightly fresher air.

Red Ken, as he was once known, was a thorn that pierced even the well-protected Iron Lady, who abolished the Greater London Council when he was leader, thenceforth governing the capital directly from parliament. Local democracy was restored, and Ken, who was too leftwing for New Labour stood as an independent, and was swept back to power.
Lord Acton said: ‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. Power took its toll on Ken, and after eight years, cronyism and a difficulty to accept criticism or see through adulation lost him his third election, despite being official Labour candidate.
With a detectable note of bitterness he is seeking to get the mayoralty back. Well, we're not far from the mayoral elections here. And with a detectable note of bitterness, Mr. Sorrentino - who is unlikely to be chosen as a mayoral candidate due to his unfortunate surname - has started ranting. His latest rant is against - his rants are usually against, rarely for - the Peace Park outside the Dal Molin American base. He says several times that Mr. Variati is ignoring the voice of the town's employers' organisations who support its use by the Civil Protection instead. Surely, he says, Variati should listen to these egregious people rather than the people who elected him. Reading on, one tries to ascertain why he supports the use of the land by the Civil Protection. To little avail. As usual, the real issue doesn't appear to concern him. His main concern following the floods was that Mr. Berlusconi didn't get the red carpet treatment he's used to from his bunga bunga friends when he visited us a few days later. The plight of the homeless was neither here nor there.
FLI has entered the pre-electoral fray with a fairly accurate analysis of the local political landscape. And the hackneyed problem of Campo Marzo. I was cycling down Viale Dalmazia, past groups of mostly African men seated on the benches this afternoon, and had to swerve out of the way, nearly falling off my bike, as an African guy threw a punch at a local man from the group of junkies seeking shade under the trees. I heard the word cocaine uttered. I cycled on, sat on an empty bench and began reading. The local man slunk dejectedly back to the group of junkies in the shade, illegally sipping the cheap wine they are now forced to get by bike, following the closure of PAM in Viale Roma. Indeed, a couple of them have moved quarters, and now sit quaffing wine and seeking alms outside PAM in Viale Mazzini. The Africans continued an animated, seemingly good-humoured discussion. Those ladies with husbands rich enough to permit it, walked their pedigree dogs, largely oblivious to junkie and African alike. The Moldavian ladies accompany their elderly charges, often in wheelchairs, largely oblivious too. Police cars of one sort or another sidle slowly past, occasionally demanding documents. I suppose it's as safe as any open area opposite a station can be during daylight hours. At night I studiously avoid it.
The AIM trial - no comments from Sorrentino about this - becomes farcical. The defence claim they were lured inadvertently into buying the incriminating platform at Marghera thanks to a survey conducted on their behalf by a certain Gianni Giglioli. He played the role of serpent. Or did he?
When he sent the bill for 10,000 odd euro to AIM, they refused to pay, and Vicenzapiù has the documents, saying that the survey had never been carried out!
A bit, only a bit, of good news. There are going to be a few more cycle lanes; not very many, but then, we wouldn't expect much from Mr. Cicero, would we? No real effort, it seems, to cut the polluting flow of traffic in and out of the centre. And seemingly, an incredible lack of investment in public transport. Instead of offering us more as an alternative to the automobile, they seem intent on offering us less, as Cicero proudly gives secondary school students the day off on Saturdays to save money, rather than offer shoppers the chance to pop into town by bus.
Variati, Cicero, Fontana. Come on, FLI, you can do better than bring up the intractable problem of Campo Marzo. Get to grips with what matters, like the air we breathe. One hopes you might be a breath of fresh air. God knows we need some.

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