They call him the preference champion. Some, with a hint of malice, go so far as to say “ras” of consensus. A very powerful electoral machine capable of influencing the success of a party or a coalition.
The dentist in love with politics
Luca Sammartino, born in 1985, from Catania, dentist, now former vice-president of the Sicilian Region and former regional councilor for Agriculture, in the last regional elections he brought home over 21 thousand votes in the “Italy first Salvini prime minister” list: he was elected for the third time at the Sicilian Regional Assembly and the other investigations in which he was involved and the two trials for electoral corruption have not affected him at all. In fact, quite the opposite: he seemed very ready to be one of the next candidates for the presidency of the Region. «We can no longer postpone the assumption of responsibility: the choices on the future of Sicily depend on the League and its young ruling class» is one of his phrases remembered today that the Pandora investigation has, in some way, stopped its progress at a time when he, who had in the meantime become leader of the League in Sicily, was organizing the list for the European elections, probably preparing for another electoral success.
From 2012 to today: five parties and full votes
Young and affable, Sammartino has always moved with the plush style of the perfect Christian Democrat. After all, it is from there, from that world that he comes: elected for the first time to the Regional Assembly in 2012 in the ranks of the UDC at 27 years old with 12,606 votes and then moving on to Article 4, a hybrid political formation; in 2015 he joined the Democratic Party and with the Dems he was elected again to the Sicilian Parliament with 33 thousand preferences; in 2019 Matteo Renzi’s move to Italia Viva to arrive in the League in 2021 with Matteo Salvini. An electoral political success that Sammartino shares with his wife Valeria Sudano, a civil lawyer specializing in corporate and banking law, now a member of the League and member, among other things, of the Anti-Mafia commission.
That clash with Musumeci
In the documents of the Regional Assembly there is still the invective of the then President of the Region Nello Musumeci addressed to Sammartino with clear reference to the palaces of justice, at that time a leading exponent of the Democratic Party: «You should be ashamed, deputy Sammartino. I’m leaving the classroom. At the moment in which we are expected to ask for clarity, you ask for a secret vote. Be ashamed of yourself and comply with your request. I left the room in protest. I hope that she and those like her can be taken care of in another building.” It was 2020, and it was still April. An invective that Sammartino has never forgiven Musumeci, who is now a minister and who, it is said, had the child prodigy of Catania politics among the major opponents of his re-nomination for the presidency of the Region.
Sammartino: «Trust in the judiciary»
Today, in one of the darkest moments of his political career he says: «I wrote a note to the president of the Region, Renato Schifani, to resign the role of regional councilor and vice president of the Region after having been subjected to a precautionary disqualification measure in relation to a crime hypothesis far away in time. I thank the president for the trust shown in me and for the work done so far. I would like to underline that I am not involved in the hypothesis of a mafia crime or vote swapping. I am calm and certain that my total non-involvement in the facts, dating back to five years ago, which I read with amazement have been disputed will emerge. I remain confident, as I have always declared and will never change my mind, towards the work of the judiciary. I will continue to serve my community and my territory by carrying out my political activity and as a regional parliamentarian.” But today the investigating judge who signed the “Pandora” order reiterates: «The behavior of the suspect Luca Sammartino in seeking information on the existence of investigations against him is certainly alarming and indicative of a personality inclined to commit criminal actions. , even inciting others to commit crimes in order to provide them to him.”
#Luca #Sammartino #big #League #ras #preferences #Sicily
2024-04-17 22:14:34