He did not fail to meet with the Tri-State Italian community despite a busy schedule even here in New York. Stefano Bonaccini, the outgoing governor of Emilia Romagna, newly elected to the European Parliament with almost 400,000 preferences, arrived in Manhattan for Summer Fancy Food 2024, the largest food fair in North America. Although in a hurry, he wanted to carve out a space for himself to dedicate to the community of Emiliano-Romagnoli first and the New York Democratic Party Circle later. A meeting organized and directed by the Honorable Christian Di Sanzo, elected in North and Central America, who, knowing well the Italian reality of the Big Apple with a constant presence in the territory, opened the meeting moderated by the President of the New York Pd Circle, Lorena Toska from Bologna. Two and a half hours of discussion between Bonaccini and the circle’s Italian professionals in which Italy, Europe and America were discussed. In the Financial District area, in a reserved room of the “Keste pizza and wine” restaurant, President Bonaccini and Congressman Di Sanzo conversed with the many Italians present, showing their best selves, that of a regional president, soon to be a member of the European Parliament, and a member of the House of Representatives, who still know how to talk and listen to people.
Bonaccini con gli iscritti al circolo PD di New York
President, we find you again this year at Fancy Food, but this time in your last term as governor.
“Yes, this is the third year I have come to the largest agribusiness fair in North America together with our consortia and companies that make extraordinary PGI and PDO products. In all, there are 44 denominated marks of origin, a number that places us at the top in Europe. The Emilia-Romagna region has always been a region with a very strong export vocation, so much so that in 2023 it confirmed the national record for exports per capita, with a clear advantage over other regions. We think that for every dollar of food we import from the United States, we export five. So it is essential to be present here again this year to maintain business and institutional relations and to support and promote our excellence in agribusiness.”
Since we last met her, which was a year ago, she has had to handle quite a few difficult situations-just think of the dramatic flooding that hit Romagna-until her tenacity, which proved successful, to bring the PD back to excellent electoral results.
“The flood was a catastrophic and dramatic event. Even today we are still waiting for the funds needed for reconstruction, which, in a surreal way, are managed directly from Rome and are delaying their arrival, creating very heavy hardships for businesses and families who in some cases have lost everything. On the last European elections, I can say that the Pd achieved an excellent result at the national level and even excellent in Emilia-Romagna, touching 36 percent. We have centered some issues on which to insist that concern Europe and also Italy: from the defense of welfare and public health to the issue of poor labor to be opposed with a reform on which Elly Schlein has invested a lot, namely that of the legal minimum wage, given that there are 4 million people, especially young people, who work for 2-4 euros gross per hour: this is not labor, but legalized exploitation. All the way to issues on ecological transition with a right-wing that even goes so far as to deny the existence of climate change. Here, these issues made us reconnect with an important part of the electorate.”
In July a new journey will begin for her in Europe.
“Yes our position toward Europe is clear. The European political scenario is not what it was a few years ago, we are living in a very delicate moment with an extreme right that is advancing in many countries and that cannot but be alarming. So our commitment to defend a united Europe and to strengthen its values, social policies, defense policies and environmental policies is fundamental.”
We who live outside Europe feel, alas, that we are often treated as second-class Italian citizens. The latest example is the inability to vote for European elections directly from here.
“This is an issue close to my heart, and the Democratic Party with Mr. Di Sanzo tabled amendments in this regard, which unfortunately were rejected. Cristian is working hard to put together an ad hoc proposal to be presented soon to make sure that citizens living outside Europe have the same means of representation as Italian citizens in Europe. I hope this will go through and you will also be able to vote from here. That would be right and proper.”
Article Bonaccini meets New York PD circle: ‘My commitment to an increasingly united Europe’ comes from TheNewyorker.
