I thought it was normal, as so many do, to criticise, insinuate and point the finger at our local administrators and mayors as incompetent and uncaring … a bit like the coach of the national football team.
Then a doubt occurred to me: I started to get to know them, to dialogue and work with them, to face the daily problems, the bureaucratic difficulties, and the ‘atavistic’ infrastructural deficiencies, and I discovered that perhaps my original judgement was a little superficial.
Then came the pandemic, a tsunami of unimaginable dimensions: I saw them devoting themselves day and night, beyond their political beliefs and partisan interests, to their citizens; fighting with the bureaucracy, assisting all the economic categories as far as possible, taking the place of those who did not give answers and even assuming responsibilities and burdens, not caring about the personal consequences; personally, distributing comfort goods door to door to those who could not move.
I am now certain of one thing: I owe respect and admiration to those who administer our communities, especially the smallest ones, because they may make mistakes and perhaps occasionally ‘go off the rails’ (nobody is perfect, let alone exempt from temptation), but most of our mayors and councillors do so out of a spirit of self-denial and a sense of common good.
If only each one of us would pause to think that they often have to continue working in a profession because the mayor’s ‘token’ certainly doesn’t even get you through the week; that they sacrifice a large part of their time, perhaps even giving up their dearest affections and interests; that in the end they are always on call and their desk is full of complaints from neighbours, complex projects, unlimited bureaucracy and at the same time they have to balance a budget where money is never enough ….
I have changed my mind, I am not a mayor and I’ll never have what it takes, but I’ll certainly be more careful in judging those who have made this choice for the common good and also to be at my service.
In the meantime, Merry Christmas to all of you who have the patience to share these thoughts with me, and especially to them, our mayors, and administrators.
