Giuseppe Mongiello Elected New President of Garda Community
Everything went according to plan. The new president of the Comunità del Garda is Professor Giuseppe Mongiello (Forza Italia), who inherits the position from Adelio Zanelli (Democratic Party), who has held it for the past four years.
Mongiello received 34 votes (out of 53 voters), while 18 ballots were blank (including one for Zanelli). This was the result of the tally at the end of the assembly, which took place yesterday in Desenzano.
The newly elected president, 56 years old from Salò, is married with three children. He has a long political career. He was a municipal councilor of DC in Salò from 1975 to 1980, then served as assessor for Public Education and Culture from 1980 to 1985, and also served as president of the Sistema Bibliotecario Alto Garda.
Finally, he was mayor of Salò from 1990 to 1995 and again assessor and deputy mayor from 1995 to 2000, first with the Giunta Cigognetti and later with the Giunta Cipani.
End of Assembly Speeches and Objectives
The meeting began with a greeting from the mayor of Desenzano, Cino Anelli, followed by the report of Adelio Zanelli, which essentially marked the handover to Mongiello.
The outgoing president’s speech reviewed all the efforts made by the organization during his four-year term. Aware that not all objectives had been achieved.
“But it’s still a community,” he said, “that must assert its role of coordination and autonomy, allowing the Garda residents to decide on matters that concern them.”
The goals outlined in the 1996 strategic document included: environmental protection, a unified tourism and promotional policy, attention to water resources, enhancement of communication strategies, and the relaunch of the Autorità Interregionale del Garda.
“I believe,” Zanelli said, “that we did what was within our capacity, pursuing long-term programs rather than temporary measures, which now can enable the Comunità del Garda to face new challenges.”
Criticisms and Defensive Plans
Zanelli then reviewed the four years of work of the Gardone-based organization. Not without recalling the period during which its existence was questioned by a project initiated by the then President of the Province of Verona to establish a Union of the Garda Provinces.
Not only did this undermine the Community, but it also intended to eliminate it entirely. “A union born with a top-down approach,” he continued, “characterized by provincial dirigisme.”
“We opposed it because we believed it would be a step backward for Garda.” On the Autorità Interregionale del Garda, a never-implemented body, Zanelli noted that “it has continued to operate intermittently.”
But now that “a political homogeneity has matured (center-right administrations in Veneto and Lombardy, ed.), it would be truly serious if the AIG did not have a role and authority within regional statutes that make the Comunità del Garda a non-mandatory but obligatory consultative instrument.”
He also recalled many projects achieved: the arrival of the Coast Guard, the implementation of navigation safety regulations, the significant contribution to transferring competencies from regional to municipal authorities, and the creation of the Coordination of Italian Lakes.
Furthermore, he highlighted efforts in culture and information, the international promotion of Garda at trade fairs, and the launch of internationally relevant websites.
Conclusions and Recognitions
The subsequent debate featured interventions from representatives of various administrations and from the provincial councilor of Brescia, Mauro Parolini.
In the executive committee, alongside Mongiello, there are three other Brescia representatives: Beschi (Toscolano Maderno), Zanelli (Puegnago), and Merici (Manerba).
For Veneto, Zappalà (Brenzone) and Pasotti (Garda); for Trentino, Ceschini; and for Mantova, Righetti.
