The President of the Tuscany Region, Claudio Martini, who was re-elected in April’s Regional elections, has appointed his Councillors and held the first inaugural session last week.
President Martini, of the centre-left party Democratici di Sinistra (DS) is now serving his second term as President of the Tuscany Region. With the appointment of his new council he reconfirmed six previous councillors and reinstated seven new members. Three women are on the council, making up 21% of the whole. Martini also created a new position on the council: Councillor for Peace.
At the inaugural meeting Martini also presented the key issues he plans to address immediately as his new term begins. The top issue on his list regards concerns over economic conditions. He cited companies in Florence, like Electrolux and Matec, which are facing severe economic difficulties that must be confronted and resolved as soon as possible. Intending not to limit his focus to the city of Florence, he has planned a tour to the 10 provinces that have been hit hardest by the current economic situation.
The second highest concern will be to resolve the housing crisis and the rising number of evictions occurring in Tuscany. The Region has already allocated 50 million euro to partially finance the construction of 1,200 private homes to be designated as low-income rental units.
Thirdly, Martini would like to begin his second term by addressing relations with Berlusconi’s government. A report will be sent to the PM concerning national problems that are affecting the region, such as the massive construction project under way for the high-speed train system that will pass through Tuscany, as well as the designation of certain areas for national parks and reserves.
