NAPLES -- Mayor of the city of Naples, Luigi De Magistris, has publicly announced the birth of his political movement, declaring that DemA will be challenging Campania governor, Vincenzo de Luca, in 2020.

 As the Parthenope leader of Democracy and Independence movement changed its statute last week, becoming an authentic political party at Domus Ars in the heart of Naples, its founder defined DemA as different. 

 Excluding any possibility that DemA could in any way emerge as an alternative raising from the ashes of a struggling Democratic Party, De Magistris is clear: “I’m sincerely honoured that many people think of me and DemA as a consequence to what’s been going on within the PD and all around it, but we are not here in search of seats. Ours is a movement that’s completely different from others. Our left-wing position is never going to be interested in being a crutch of the PD,” he emphasizes. 

 Much now explains why the city Mayor has been in constant contrast with the Democratic Party government and regional governor, often refusing to work together. De Magistris has had his mind on political aspirations of his own that take on a different direction and now they have started taking shape.

 “DemA is going to be an entirely different movement from parties known since 1900’s,” explains De Magistris, “even different from the Five-star Movement. Our intention is to converge the many local independent movements that in other parts of the world have been demonstrating there is indeed a different and effective way of conducting politics,” says its founder. “We are going to start by immediately connecting with others who believe in radical and revolutionary change,” he concludes. 

 The all-Neapolitan statute members voted unanimously to elect the movement founder President of DemA. Although honoured to embrace new projects, De Magistris assures he will nonetheless complete his mandate as Mayor that ends in 2021 and that he will not be De Luca’s adversary in 2020 Regional election.

 Currently forerunners in the City Council, the movement that sided with De Magistris and his independent candidature for re-election last year has been growing rapidly in consensus, even in the Salerno area (known as De Luca country) and they certainly won’t be a group of just simple voters in the next regional election.

 DemA president De Magistris announced that the party plans on appearing on the political arena much before regional elections. “With administrative elections coming up in several towns this year, DemA will propose its candidates, even where it does not expect to win,” he asserts. Although the embryo party is not currently ready for political elections were the nation to vote this year, with DemA’s first national assembly scheduled for June, probable national election postponement to 2018 could very well give DemA the time to consolidate its program and nominate a candidate.

 Born in 1967 in Naples, Luigi de Magistris began working as a judge in 1993, following in the footsteps of his father. After prosecuting some heated cases in Calabria that led to disciplinary actions taken by the Superior Magistrate Board, he stepped down as a judge and entered politics in 2009, signing up for the left-wing party Italia dei Valori. After serving in the European Parliament, he won the first of his two mandates as Mayor of Naples in 2011 as an IDV candidate and was re-elected as an independent Arancione candidate in 2016. He currently serves his second term as Mayor. 

 fb