On the list for the Low Chamber in Europe: Italy forgot its emigrants
“We are today’s youth who arrive in a foreign country via low costs airlines in search of opportunity”
A member of the so-called “generation Charleroi” is defined by the name of the airport in which the Low Cost flights arrive in Belgium. Francesco Cerasani, 31 year old Secretary of the Democratic Party section in Brussels, arrived in that group in 2004, since then he has worked at the delegation of Democrats in the European Parliament and is now one of the candidates for Chamber of Deputies in the European electoral district. “I am using an old election campaign style on the territory: door to door, meetings with associations and going to Italian bars in Brussels as well as other cities in Belgium. There is no Porcellum abroad but the voters express a direct preference. Then I am also campaigning via internet and social media like Twitter which helps me reach further.”
What do you mean by Charleroi Generation?”
“For those of us who relocated Charleroi is the gateway to Belgium. Many youth arrive into that airport and often stay here for years. But Charleroi is also a city in which the presence of Italians who arrived 10 years ago. Nearby is the Bois du Cazier, where the Marcinelle coal mine is, the site of the tragedy where 262 people died of which 136 were Italian.”
The Italian community is one of the most numerous in Belgium…
“Yes but Italy forgot about its emigration too soon and didn’t learn from it. Other than the anniversary of the Marcinelle tragedy for which there are commemorative events, in everyday life nobody pays attention; there are cuts on consular structures that don’t work well and citizens often feel abandoned. In Europe there are 2.2 million Italians, in the world there are 4.2, almost the same as the population in Emilia Romagna. Voila’, it’s as if the government had forgotten all of Emilia Romagna.”
In this case the failed concession for the right to vote for Erasmus students was lost for the umpteenth time?
“Certainly the rules of AIRE (Registration for Italian Residents Living Abroad) are antiquated; only those who reside in a country for at least one year can vote. Instead, think about the primaries that were open to everyone, in Brussels over 1,330 people voted, definitively the city where most foreigners voted. This illustrates that there is a group of youth who go live abroad, youth who are not only so-called “intellects on the run,” but young kids who take on very different professions and look for an opportunity outside of Italy. Unfortunately, many leave for lack of alternative, given the economic situation of the country, others leave simply because they want to benefit from the opportunity offered by the new European citizenship.”
What could be done to change this situation?
“Bersani wants to reform citizenship in the first 100 days; we have something to say about this.”
Politics in Europe is made of relationships, compromises and negotiations; do you think if the Democratic Party Secretary were to win he would have the ability to influence the circumstance of the EU?
“In this perspective Bersani would be the best successor to Monti because like him, he is a man capable of functioning as “gatekeeper,” to mediate in order to bring the different leaders’ positions closer. We must convince those administrations that for national peculiarities they are more reluctant to truly take on the federal dimension of the EU.”
And it’s also necessary to convince Italian citizens of the benefits of the EU – it is not winning any popularity contests right now…
“Bersani, unlike Monti, is not a tecnhocrat but a man in favor of agreement and unity; he has the right credibility to establish a turning point in terms of relationship regarding citizenship. His administration will be capable of making the right decision and helping the people understand.”
One of the actions that must be dealt with if he wins is the Fiscal Compact which imposes rigid limits on government expenditures.
“The Fiscal Compact establishes the need for national parliamentarians to take on serious structural reform in a very realistic method because the spiraling debt and lack of growth is proven by the economists. Italy reached a balanced budget on the deficit; we were among the first with an austerity policy but with social butchery. Now it is not about saying it in a populist method – away with fiscal compact, away with IMU (Italian residential property tax) and such policies, we need to be serious. What is missing in this Pact is the social vision and for this we must push in Europe to have a real political union alongside a monetary and economic one. This entails transferring objectives on very sensitive questions and it will not be easy. But if we want to Europeanize Italy, it requires an effort that is not just political but that embraces different fields, essentially, a cultural effort.”
Alfonso Bianchi
For further information:
http://www.francescocerasani.eu/
In the next few days we will publish interviews with candidates from other parties and coalitions.
