Associationism and politics as a mantra . Franco Marras has just turned sixty and in March he was confirmed as head of the Acli in Sardinia, which he has been leading since October 2017, after taking over from Fabio Meloni, the first Sardinian elected to the national presidency. In everyday life he works at Ersu in Cagliari and takes care of canteen services. "For twenty-five years I have been involved in training services", says Marras, "and for the last thirteen I have worked in services in the Region system first in the health sector and then, with political and managerial responsibilities, in Transport". The social and political commitment for him are an almost genetic fact: "I come from a family that has always had a particular sensitivity not to mind their own business , as my mother says, and not to turn away in the face of need and unease. This led me to experience both socially, within the Acli, and in politics, first in the Social Christians and from there I collaborated in the birth of the Democratic Party ”. She has a 25-year-old son and the last book she read is a novel by Lorenzo Scano, “Via Libera”, which represents the journey of three teenagers from Cagliari. “It is a very realistic cross-section of what happens to our children who too often lack the references that can accompany them in such an important moment of their growth and training”.

President Marras, how long have the Acli been in your life?

“I could always say. My father was a manager of it, in reality my commitment in the ACLI was born at the beginning of the eighties of the last century as a continuation of the activity in the student movement. I remember that the first initiative in which I participated was a great demonstration for Peace to which more than ten thousand people joined. Those were the years of military confrontation between the US and the USSR and that mobilization was trying to oppose the installation of missile bases in our territory ”.

By whom was he accompanied on this journey?

“I didn't just have a reference in that“ training ”phase. I tried to keep my father as far away as possible, who I must say was very respectful in letting me live that time without interference. Certainly the young people I found within Youth Aclista helped me a lot, starting with the secretary at the time. In the path of growth, the most important reference was undoubtedly Giovanni Bianchi, national president of Acli, who for my generation is still the main representation and example ".

Those who know her define her as a man of action and relationship. Do we find ourselves?

"Yes enough. I have always favored concreteness and operability. And I have certainly always kept in mind the sense of my limitation which has made me aware of the need to create networks and relationships: no one is self-sufficient and no one does anything alone ".

What is the meaning of being aclisted today?

“The same sense and the same reason why the Acli were born. In 1946 the reason for which they were imagined was the condition for which it was necessary to make available to workers places of protection and accompaniment to a path, not only professional, but also of growth and improvement of their condition. It is no coincidence that the Acli laid the foundations for the birth of the CISL. They were very complicated years, the consequences of the Second World War were a sad reality: the Acli became the instrument of protection and social protection. Today, with the time we are living in, with the uncertainty of what awaits us in the near future, the Acli continue to be a place where support and guidance can be found for the construction of a life path ”.
In the First Republic, the political beacon of the association was the DC. Is there such a clear reference today, regardless of the individual's belonging?

“Certainly this was true until the end of the 1960s. Then, without going into detail on our history, the relationship with the Christian Democrats has been characterized by ups and downs. Today, I say fortunately, there is no relationship with politics and parties that can make us understand privileged relations with anyone. Of course, it is more frequent that we relate to those political parties that show attention to those who struggle most, with those who have a clear and unambiguous adherence to the fundamental principles of our Republic, starting with the defense of the democratic values contained in the Constitution " .

The Sardinian politician who - in history - has embodied the values of the Acli?

“There have been several and on different levels, including institutional ones, they have transferred their aclists. To name a few: Lorenzo Isgrò, from Oristano, parliamentarian for many years speaker of the most important economic measures in the 1960s and 1970s, Efisio Corrias who, before being president of the Region, was president of the ACLI of Cagliari and regional president, Giovanni Boi, himself parliamentarian, Bista Zoppi, unforgotten president of the Nuoresi Acli, Cicito Canu in Sassari, to get to very recent times Tonino Tidu, regional councilor for three terms, Eliseo Secci regional councilor and planning councilor, Silvio Lai regional councilor and senator of the Republic. Each of these, along with many others, has been able to transfer the teaching and methodology that he has learned in the Acli school to the institutions, which now also lives in the work of Valter Piscedda, current regional councilor. To stay with the aclists outside the Acli, certainly Nino Carrus and, in some ways, Federico Palomba ”.

Work, on the island that is slowly leaving the dark period of the pandemic behind, is also a hot topic on the Acli agenda. What should be done in the immediate and medium term?
“Until 2019 the private sector employed 100,000 people per year in Sardinia, in 2020 it only hired 66,000. Of these, less than 30 percent have a degree or professional qualification. The number of people below the poverty line in Sardinia has doubled. It seems to me that the data says it all. I don't think the problem can be solved just by granting resources to companies to keep them on their feet. We need to increase the skills of workers, not only as adults, but since they are young, given that the school is not always able to keep them inside. Linked to this is the fact that poverty is not just an economic issue. Our research constantly demonstrates this: people must be accompanied with projects that see integrated public services provided by Aspal and the third sector, because social inclusion is other than just the job opportunity, which is lost if not supported. For these reasons we have proposed that the Wefare Department be created, combining the skills of the Department of Labor and the Directorate of Social Policies currently in charge of the Department of Health ".

Is there a recipe for social growth and, in this direction, what are the new areas of operation of the so-called third sector?
“The new code of the third sector, written by a contractor, Deputy Minister Luigi Bobba, clearly indicates the way, that is, the co-planning of interventions between the public system and the third sector. You cannot face the social issue with public works calls or think about the social need only with cash disbursements or as nineteenth-century assistance. A problem must be identified, the public must have the courage to choose the path of co-planning with the third sector and develop the solution together. All the rest generates inequalities, poor professional services, dispersion of resources ”.

The other battles that should be bravely fought for the Island?
“There are new rights that need to be made payable. The right to mobility, to not be left alone by children and the elderly, to live where you want and not where you are forced by the absence of services, to be treated and not to be on a waiting list, that to start a family, to live in a welcoming and integrated society ".

You were also a regional leader of the Democratic Party. Do you find that the structure and the proposals of the party are still in line with the demands of the weaker sections of the population?
“Since the last congress I have no more roles in the Democratic Party, by choice I felt it was necessary to leave the responsibility of continuing the work to others. I have not been followed by too many in this choice and too many are still there. I say this with bitterness: the Democratic Party has taken on the task of not derailing the country, as in Sardinia it takes on the task of restoring public budgets. But, then, to restore public spending, we accept that the weakest pay, those of cleaning contracts for 5 euros or supervision for a thousand euros, the urban suburbs without school and training, the elderly without care and without prevention, exploited or poorly paid women. And so we leave whole sections of the population in the hands of the secondhand populist of the moment. For me, for us of the Acli who reflect on it, this should be the frontier: not only of the Democratic Party but of an idea or a progressive coalition ”.
So, say something sinister.
“Only quotes from Pope Francis come to mind. The first: we need to change lifestyles because it is selfishness that causes poverty. It seems to me a nice manifesto of the left ”.

And of aclista.
“Here too, it seems to me that Pope Francis is the beacon to which the Acli must look. There are two that must guide us: "Every Christian in the workplace can give witness, with words and even before that with an honest life". And, the other, on the family: “The three key words: permission, sorry, thank you. If these three words are said in a family, the family goes on ”. Here, Pope Francis is as clear as it is simple: this is how we of the Acli must be, as Christians and workers. And still another, on politics: "Politics, much denigrated, is a very high vocation, it is one of the most precious forms, because it seeks the common good".

In this sense, what is the future of associations and solidarity?
“A reflection that is acquired in Europe is valid here: the future of volunteering and the third sector is not in voluntarism, but in the ability to move ethical and professional resources in the direction of the public good, together with the institutions. Not to fill gaps but to guide them not to generate inequalities ”.

Football is one of his passions. You have always been a supporter of Cagliari: will Mazzarri give the rossoblù the shock they need?

“I hope so, the decision to sack Semplici seemed a bit hasty, perhaps there was no conviction that he had the requisites to lead the team and then it would have been more correct not to reconfirm him from the beginning. The feeling is that even in football it is difficult to foresee a future rather than investing and planning. However, I am confident, even if mine is more the fan's confidence ”.

In conclusion, returning to less frivolous arguments: what shock does the island need?

“Sardinia needs politics made in Sardinia, authoritative, serious and competent, avoiding the adventures that destroy it: both the populist beggars and the aesthetic ones of the technicians. To dogniunu su suu , to each his own ".

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