Long essay: the electoral campaign of Roberto Tavani

Roberto Tavani, former Environment and Sport councillor, run for re-election at “Municipio XVII” in Roma. His electoral campaign reflected his style: he is committed to bridge the gap in between politics and citizens. He quoted as a mantra the “politica della fontanella” (waterfountain politics, as definied by the leader of the Democratic party Walter Veltroni) which is about a governance style looking at the big ideas without loosing sight of the basic needs of people.

In a Rome full of electoral posters and of all sort of wasteful electoral advertisement, the electoral campaign of Roberto was quite an odd one. No posters, no cars with ads, no tv ads, no big events and a very little money invested. According to him it is a crime to litter Rome, and election time is no excuse to waste so much money. So he printed only a few leaflets (with a “please recycle” logo at the back), and did a lot of walking : “Will you vote in Municipio XVII? If so, I would like to give you a leaflet and introduce myself… “.. and started chatting. Most of his campaign was done on the road, talking to people in the streets, in bars, in shops. He also participated to few events, organized by friends or by himself (e.g. aperitifs, opening of art exhibitions, pub evenings, a theatre show with a comedian…). But he stayed away from big events, from the gazebos of the Democratic party, which were popping everywhere in the neighbourhood. The essence was walking walking walking, with his assistant Lorenza and always in his clark shoes, green coat and cigarettes, the uniform of vintage left wing politicians. He walked mainly in the areas where he had something to show of his previous work (playgrounds, dog areas, pruned trees…) and where he certainly had lots of acquaintances: he remembered the names of an incredible number of people… He walked in the areas more prone to vote to the left: the northern area around Piazza Mazzini rather than the elegant and posh streets of Prati. And, on top of all this walking, he did a lot of talking on the mobile phone.. and a blog, with a small video for You Tube.

The outcome of his approach was a surprising one. The democratic party won the election in the Municipio (quite an achievement in a country where the right got it all this time), and he had the most votes, more then double of the second one. Definitely, at least at the Municipio scale, there are still many people who believe in the having a personal relationship with the candidates they vote for, rather than looking at his face on a poster or on tv I guess it is good news.