Concerts in the square, fireworks and major events, Turin marks the differences with respect to the Appendino era

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A square with a capacity of 12,000 people for the New Year’s concert. It seems routine but for the City of Turin it is an important change. Among those to be put on the list of things that, on the field, differentiate the Lo Russo junta from that of Chiara Appendino. At the beginning of the administration of the first citizen of the Five Star Movement there had been the tragedy of Piazza San Carlo, the trial and then the sentence, with abbreviated rite. Squares therefore almost banned for the entire mandate, also thanks to the pandemic in the last period.

The current mayor Stefano Lo Russo was the number one political opponent of the mayor Appendino in Sala Rossa, the hall that houses the city council. So the will to mark a profound difference compared to the first citizen who preceded it is strong. Even if a year and a half of City Government, perhaps, is still not a consistent enough period to mark big differences.

A few weeks after the election, in 2021, Mayor Lo Russo chose to return to a deeply felt tradition in the city, that of fireworks during the feast of San Giovanni, sacrificed by the Appendino in the name of innovation and replaced by drone show. From the very beginning it was clear that the City’s approach to major events would change, even if the mayor Appendino deserves credit for having worked well to bring the Nitto ATP Tennis Finals to Turin. An important legacy that Mayor Lo Russo and his council have been able to exploit.

However, a different story should be made for the next Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. In that case Mayor Appendino pulled out but Mayor Lo Russo would be ready to get back into the game. During the press conference at the end of the year he reiterated it several times: “We are ready and willing to make the plants available because the thing that matters most to us is that Italy makes a good impression on an international level”.

Mayor Lo Russo has managed, with the Draghi government, an important maneuver on the budget, burdened by a level of debt among the highest in Italy, thanks to the “Pact for Turin”. It has secured a non-repayable grant of 1.2 billion euros for the next twenty years, reducing the risk of default, after last February, however, it was forced to increase the municipal income tax rate to meet the commitments balance.