Operation 'spallata', La Porta on the pitch: "I am always available to Prato"

Prato, June 29, 2025 – Chiara La Porta , deputy of Fratelli d'Italia, in the pool of names for the post-earthquake municipal elections is the most accredited candidate for the center-right. «I am always available to the city and working for Prato. And I would be if and when the party asked me to» she underlines analyzing the scenario of these weeks never experienced before.

The city of Prato has sunk into a historical moment never experienced before in its history.

"It's like this. The city has been hit by an earthquake and the citizens, betrayed, are living a dramatic moment and feel hurt, disoriented and lost."

Unimaginable or hypothetical epilogue?

"For years now, the atmosphere in the city had been heavy. On the part of those who administered Prato, a way of denying reality prevailed, above all. A reality that was evident, under everyone's eyes, undeniable, about which citizens asked questions to which no answers were given."

Prato, the mother of all political battles? The symbol of the Tuscan system where business and power converge?

"I wouldn't use the word battle, because we are working daily for a rebirth of Prato. The city is the emblem of a reality that needs answers and a clear and decisive guide, which it has not had. In this sense Prato is indeed a symbol of the Tuscan system, characterized by unclear situations, which have gone unnoticed or in any case on which no one has provided clarifications when the center-right asked for them. A method that is the result of the arrogance and bullying of those who have held power for decades."

She is the most credible candidate of the center-right. Is she ready?

"I am always available to the city and working for Prato. And I would be if and when the party asked me to. It is certainly still very early. I will continue to work for my territory, as I have always done in recent years of fighting for the restoration of legality and transparency in a context corrupted, unfortunately, by specific criminal phenomena. And I will continue to do so more than ever now, in such a painful and delicate moment, for a Prato that needs even more attention and protection. We are always ready to serve our territory. I have already demonstrated it and I will continue to do so."

The whole coalition will be needed. Is there unity?

"The coalition is ready, it is united and compact. Periodic meetings for discussion and proposals are already underway."

And also of a substantial civic support…

"Today's moments represent an appeal to men and women of good will, to all those who have not had the opportunity to dialogue, due to a system of power in force. We are ready to dialogue with them. Citizens, aggregations, associations. All those who feel they want to give another chance to the city".

Widespread election campaign? Every bell to ring from Iolo to Mezzana, from Viaccia to San Giorgio?

"It will certainly be a widespread electoral campaign and the dialogue with citizens will be frank, sincere and even more assiduous, so as to make them understand that the possibility of an alternative really exists. We will be door to door to give answers and try to accompany citizens towards a free vote, crucial for the good of the city. As for the trade associations of the textile sector, I invite them, even more so today, to form a district, in an official and codified way, to thus have a direct dialogue with politics without having to depend on it".

The regional elections are a test for Prato but is Prato also a safe of votes for Tomasi?

"A historical moment like this must not reduce Prato to a mere test. The regional elections are undoubtedly important. Healthcare in Tuscany is managed in an unacceptable way. The increase in Irpef has not only burdened citizens, but has not led to any gaps being filled. I am thinking of the waiting lists. Certainly, what has happened and what is emerging in Prato, added to the ineffective regional policies of recent years, makes citizens ask many questions. The result of the regional elections is therefore far from a foregone conclusion given that the date of that round of elections has not yet been decided."

Biagioni says that the center-right only throws mud, destroys and does nothing good for the city.

«The constant arrogance and bullying of the Democratic Party have brought us to the point where we are today. Years of distortion of tangible reality, shouted by denying. Always denying and attacking. This has been the Pd method. The same that made the party say that the mayor resigned out of a sense of responsibility. Then, in the reasons of the investigating judge, we read not only the confirmation of criminally relevant behavior by Ilaria Bugetti, but that it was only thanks to her resignation that she avoided the precautionary measure. So it was a precise defensive strategy for her own protection. Not for the good of Prato or the institutions. Denying and accusing. Just as it happened when, lying to the citizens, it was learned that Bugetti had not indicated in his curriculum vitae the professional role in a company linked to the entrepreneur Matteini Bresci. He accused us of throwing mud. The usual pattern, the same attitude also from the previous administration to the current one, to which we asked for greater attention with respect to the Chinese mafia. They really love the word mud… Evidently the problems did not need to be addressed in order to be solved. Denying them, however, accusing the opposition in a purely instrumental way, has brought us to the sad page we are reading today».