Ischia and Casamicciola: The silent dissent that challenges the mayors | #4WD
A dissent that has long ceased to be a whisper is spreading through Ischia and Casamicciola. It isn't shouted, it isn't organized in the streets, but it grows in the hallways, in the bars, on social media, and above all in the eloquent silences of those who, while not exposing themselves, are no longer willing to uncritically support those in government. It is a silent but far from harmless dissent, moving in parallel in two municipalities united by an unusual symmetry in the political and personal destinies of their mayors. Giosi Ferrandino and Enzo Ferrandino today find themselves on different sides, united more by their past than by a present marked by a mutual and thinly veiled disdain. Giosi, former mayor of Ischia and now a former member of the European Parliament, was the mentor and then deputy mayor-designate of Enzo, the current mayor. But over time, their relationship has frayed, consumed by divergent choices, independent and disconnected strategies, and perhaps even incompatible ambitions. Now, each regards the other with more than mere suspicion, and the game of alliances, while not openly conflictual, has faded into strategic indifference. Yet, regardless of personal dynamics, both are faced with shifting popular sentiment. Giosi, theoretically safe thanks to a distant electoral agenda—barring unforeseen events related to the Huawei legal case, which could rekindle his spotlight in a less desirable way—seems to want to keep a low profile, governing with the self-assurance of someone who has already conquered the rear echelons of power. But his name, while still strong, is no longer untouchable. People respect him, but they no longer follow him with the same conviction. Dashed expectations and the perception of a project no longer having momentum give way to a subterranean criticism that, while unexpressed, is beginning to make inroads. And even the press (the free one, like our newspaper), faced with certain evidence, no longer believes in him.
Enzo Ferrandino's position is more complex, as he faces the end of his term approaching and faces weighty questions about his future. Should he run for office in the upcoming regional elections or not? This is the question looming even among his increasingly divisive supporters. The mayor of Ischia faces a choice: continue cultivating an already eroding local consensus, or attempt to leap into a race that requires energy, alliances, financial resources, and a solid image. But it is precisely this latter image that is creaking. Discontent is spreading among residents, among shopkeepers, among entrepreneurs who feel neglected, among outlying hamlets complaining of neglect, and among councilors who are starting to look elsewhere.
And then there's the crucial question of his successor. Who will take up Enzo Ferrandino's mantle? And above all, who will openly support him? The names circulating are few and far between, and, by many accounts, lack any real unifying power beyond the handover of power. There are legitimate fears of a political vacuum, but also of a fragmentation of proposals (even those of a nonexistent minority), which could make the upcoming elections a settling of scores rather than a transition. In this context, even attempts to regain a central role in institutional relations seem belated or lacking in impact. The two mayors' careers, therefore, span two different timescales, but with a clear common thread: the gradual disenchantment of an electorate that long supported them, but is now beginning to look elsewhere. Consensus is no longer unanimous, nor spontaneous. It requires explanations, answers, visions. And above all, it requires credibility, well beyond clientele.
Meanwhile, silent dissent observes, records, and grows. It makes no noise, but it can decide the political fate of both.
Il Dispari
