Continuity or break, last appeals before the vote by the people of Busto

The final challenge among the five mayoral candidates, which was organised by VareseNews and chaired by the journalists Orlando Mastrillo and Marco Corso, brought more than two hundred people to the Tramogge Hall of the Molini Marzoli, who, on Sunday 5 June, are called to select the future Mayor from among Emanuele Antonelli, Andrea Brasca, Gianluca Castiglioni, Luigi Genoni and Alberto Rossi. The candidates presented their views on a number of topics and even “played”, so to speak, trying to recognise places in Busto Arsizio from photos. Here, you will find the videos with the answers to the various questions.

Before answering the questions, the candidates were presented by those who knew them best, in a video, lasting one and a half minutes, followed by their own presentations made directly to the participants.

The first question the candidates had to discuss was asked by the editor of VareseNews, Marco Giovannelli. “How do you intend to make Busto Arsizio attractive to businesses again?”

While Gianluca Castiglioni, for the centre-left, focused on greater attention to taxation, Emanuele Antonelli, for the centre-right, spoke of reducing bureaucracy in order to help business, Luigi Genoni, the 5 Stelle candidate, said he wanted to bring services to all industrial areas, such as the very large area of Sacconago, that have great potential, but that are not being exploited sufficiently. Alberto Rossi focused on the “ecological transition necessary to redress the environmental crisis,” and Andrea Brasca spoke of providing businesspeople with more direct services, for example, by updating the Council’s website to make online bureaucracy easier.

The aim of the second question was to make the candidates look further afield than Busto. It was discovered that Antonelli would take the Legnano model, for its animated nightlife, and Varese, for its elegance; Luigi Genoni envies the liveability of other towns, Alberto Rossi would like to see more green areas, Andrea Brasca would take inspiration from the new hospital in Legnano and focused on redeveloping the industrial areas in the town. Then, Gianluca Castiglioni emphasised Busto’s “particular characteristics and strengths that should be taken as a starting point”, giving importance to the themes of culture and sport.

To break up the “seriousness” of the evening, the candidates were asked to take part in a game of photographs: 15 places in Busto Arsizio, classified as easy, medium and difficult, to test their knowledge of the town.

Another question put to the candidates was “Family, the disabled, the young and the elderly; which priority? Whose needs are the greatest?”

All of the candidates highlighted the importance of making a priority of people in difficulty, whether they are elderly, disabled, young or families. Castiglioni focused on employment as a way of escaping poverty and isolation, Genoni pointed to 5 Stelle’s programme, Rossi gave priority to housing and employment, with tax policies that reduce the taxation on low incomes; Brasca repeated attention to the family with the forecast of a family quotient, and, finally, Antonelli focused on promoting foster care for children in the community, and said that “Busto is full of associations and non-profit organisations, and the council must try to organise them as businesses, but always in the role of leader.”

On the last question, “Paint Busto of today and of the future”, all of the candidates admitted that Busto needs to focus on beauty, starting with attention to a number of critical areas that currently exist in the town, for example, the area of San Michele and of the Ferrovia Nord. Furthermore, according to the mayoral hopefuls, “Busto doesn’t need continual promises, but concrete action.”

The evening ended with two questions taken from the audience, on payment for the occupation by businesses of public land, given the slow bureaucracy and the need to find money, and on the town from a child’s perspective. The final appeal by the candidates revealed tension between Movimento per Busto and Movimento 5 Stelle, with the candidates Brasca and Genoni provoking each other. These were the final sparks before voting on 5 June.