Most Italian politicians, whether they are high up on the totem pole or not, usually dress themselves accordingly, or at least distinguish themselves by donning all the trappings of the 'casta', as many Italians call the corrupt political elite.
But, in Messina, the new mayor is a man of the people. He goes around with a rucksack, instead of the telltale 24 hours valise, and is perennially unshaven.
His convictions however, place him at the zenith of the political scale: he wants to end corruption in that city, a task that has defied decades of efforts to limit criminal activity in Siciliy.
Mayor Renato Accorinti has already publicly challenged the local mafiosos. His motto is "a people that pays no protection money is a free people". His movement's followers, called "Addio PIzzo", or goodbye protection money, have been known to distribute flyers in the city, even after they were chased by Cosa Nostra minions.
Many people in Messina equate Accorinti's election to that of the new pope Bergoglio. He is seen as a man of the people, for the people. His appeal is almost universal in the town of 250,000 people. He has no enemies, except for the organized criminals.
Although Messina is not in as firm a grip of the Mafia as Palermo and Reggio Calabria, Messina does have enormous corruption and graft problems. The wives of both of Messina's prior mayors were jailed for emblezzement of government funds.
Italy is trying to shake off the chains of the Berlusconi legacy, where corruption and graft infiltrated even the minutest crevices of government and the private sector. Italians are fed up of the riches that keep falling on the privileged and of the taxes that are continuously raised upon the have-nots to pay for the 'casta's paychecks.
Accorinti is perfect for the role. He is a phys-ed teacher, with little to lose or gain from the mayorship. Unmarried, he lives in a modest apartment, where he must take care of his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. He has been a political activist all his life, and people have recognized in him the embodiment of the human condition of the less privileged.
His office has become a place of pilgrimage: scores of people come to seek help or just to be heard. People who are out of work, people who are homeless or just without prospects. They bring food and children and talk, transforming the hallowed halls of the city into a noisy popular babel.
Accorinti does not promise to change the world. He just wants to make his mark as the man who is there for the people. He wants to give hope, and to remind people that the mayorship is not a privilege, but a duty, which must be served humbly and with respect for people's needs.
His efforts however, have paid off. He has appointed a city council which, for the first time in decades, is actually working. He has also efficiently contrasted the building of a bridge that to many is just a pork project, since the bridge benefits no one. In fact, Berlusconi was the person who proposed the project, and many see it as a 'gift' to the people who have helped his rise to power.
Until Accorinti showed up, the bridge construction was almost a reality. But his efforts and those of his followers have put a halt to the construction project. His demonstrations were so effective, that pictures of his climb to the top of a 700 feet tower to unfurl a protest banner made headlines worldwide.
He works 12-14 hours a day, much of it listening to the problems brought to him by the people.
Many fear he might die of exhaustion, if the mafia doesn't get him first. In fact, a neapolitan mayor who had a similar m.o. was shot dead a few years ago.
For now, the dream is on. People worship the wiry man, and are panicked that he might collapse from too much work.
What Accorinti has done, is not to change the world. He has done something better: he has given everyone the tools to hope for a better world. And that, has gotten people to their feet.
Op-ED
Source : Spiegel International/ 10.5.13
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