A dramatic turn of events at the Università Popolare di Trieste: the era of Silvio Delbello is over. The three days of elections for the new board of directors of the institution ended on Thursday evening, and the results of the count mark a strong change: Manuele Braico, Massimiliano Rovati, Micaela Silva and Renzo Grigolon enter the board in a single block. That is, the members of the alternative list to that of the outgoing president Delbello. "We are very satisfied, our motto "Continuity in renewal" has convinced", comments the day after Massimiliano Rovati, who during the election period acted as spokesperson for the list. Silvio Delbello takes it sportingly, but not without bitterness: "The results are what they are, there is not much to comment on - he says -. Obviously I am sorry: if I ran, it is because I was counting on continuing the work done in these five years".

The results There were approximately 650 members who participated in the vote, out of a total of 1500. Overall, the winning list received 401 votes against the 241 of the second-placed. This is the “ranking”: Manuele Braico 111 votes, Massimiliano Rovati 100 votes, Micaela Silva 97 votes, Renzo Grigolon 93 votes, Silvio Delbello 69 votes, Aldo Flego 61 votes, Ferdinando Parlato 56 votes, Fiorella Fontanot 55 votes.

Manuele Braico, elected president of the Istrian Communities last year, has shown that he knows how to catalyze votes by collecting the biggest loot. The other members of his list follow, thus leaving Delbello's team out of the board of directors. A "single-color" result was not a given: on the ballot paper, members had to indicate four individual names and therefore did not necessarily have to favor candidates from a single list. On March 7, the new board of directors will be convened and the four elected members will vote, together with the nine members nominated by the institutions, for the new president and the board of directors.

The winners Massimiliano Rovati, sociologist, does not hide his satisfaction: «It went very well, we proved to be a solid block – he says -. Once the positions are unblocked, the real work of the new board of directors and the People's University will begin. We will communicate the first initiatives regarding Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia but also the city of Trieste. This year marks the 115th anniversary of the Upt and we want to celebrate it in a worthy manner». Rovati is still keeping quiet about the identity of the next president: «As I have already said, we have in mind a young person who knows the institution well and also the Italian communities in Istria and Dalmatia, but it is still too early to name names». The reason for the silence, he explains, is the work of consultation and contact with the nine nominated members of the board of directors that will be conducted in the coming days. «We will be sure of who the next president will be only after the first board meeting».

The outgoing president Yesterday morning Silvio Delbello stopped by the Upt headquarters in Piazza Ponterosso to greet the employees with whom he has shared the last five years: «The staff was waiting for me to greet me with emotion», he says. Delbello also does not comment on the possible identity of his successor: «Even the Upt employees ask me, but I really have no idea. If I knew, I would say so, but perhaps at least for the moment no one knows».

Delbello is sparing in his comments on the winners and the outcome of the vote: "It's difficult for me to make an assessment because most of them are people I don't know. Just as it's difficult for me to express an opinion on the vote: I know the environment of the Upt well, and I'm sorry to abandon it. Perhaps there were evaluations external to the life of the University".

The new board of directors The new board of directors of Upt is now composed of the four elective directors Manuele Braico, Massimiliano Rovati, Micaela Silva
and Renzo Grigolon, and by the nine appointed members: in addition to two delegates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we find Fabrizio Somma, Diana De Petris De Rosa, Denis Zigante, Renzo Codarin, Maria Cristina Benussi, Massimo Parovel, Luisella Tenente. The new president will be elected from among them.

di John Thomasin

The Adriatic Observer