Gianfranco Morgando has died: first secretary of the Piedmontese Pd, last heir to the Dc tradition

Gianfranco Morgando, the former member of parliament and first secretary of the Democratic Party in Piedmont, has died. A respiratory crisis caused by leukemia, which he had been battling for several months, claimed his life. He was based in Borgiallo in the Canavese area and would have turned seventy-seven on December twenty. His political career spanned decades within the Christian Democrat tradition, later moving through the Italian People’s Party, The Daisy, and finally the Democratic Party. Morgando began his public service as a municipal administrator for the Christian Democrats in his hometown of Borgiallo and in Cuorgne. In 1985, at age thirty-six, he was elected to the Turin provincial council, serving as an assessor for education before taking charge of the budget. He entered Parliament in 1992 while the Christian Democrat party was declining. Two years later, he co-founded the Italian People’s Party and became its first regional secretary for Piedmont. In 1996, he was re-elected as a deputy representing the Turin 7 constituency under the Olive coalition. During Massimo D’Alema’s premiership, he served as undersecretary of state for industry and subsequently for the treasury. He remained in Parliament until 2008. He held the position of regional secretary for the Democratic Party in Piedmont until 2013. He resigned from that role in protest against the exclusion of Piedmontese figures from the team of new Prime Minister Enrico Letta. Politically, Morgando was considered a disciple of Carlo Donat-Cattin, whose foundation he directed, and of Guido Bodrato. He was a prominent representative of the New Forces current, alongside figures such as Giorgio Merlo and Gian Paolo Brizio. He also acted as a mentor to Stefano Lo Russo, the mayor of Turin. When Lo Russo won the primary election against Gianluca Susta on October fourteen, 2007, Morgando appointed him as coordinator of the secretariat. This occurred in the only region that rejected the single candidate logic indicated by Rome. Although Lo Russo did not belong to the former populars lineage led by Morgando, the two developed a working relationship. Another protégé, regional councillor Daniele Valle, became secretary of the Young Democrats in Turin. However, their paths diverged in 2011 when Morgando supported Piero Fassino in the mayoral primaries, while Valle aligned with Davide Gariglio along with much of the Catholic and liberal component of the party. Morgando was described as a First Republic politician in both timing and manner. He was resistant to social media and impulsive statements. He often admitted he did not know how to respond to certain questions if he felt no need to intervene. When faced with demands or controversies, he preferred to delay action, stating it was not a matter to address immediately. Party members coined the term "Morgandare," meaning to postpone or procrastinate, to describe this habit. Among current politicians, regional councillor Monica Canalis maintained close contact with him. She represented the Catholic and identity-based area that was once majority but is now marginal. Canalis remembered him as a political father rich in insight, courtesy, passion, and humanity. She stated that she and her colleagues mourned him, hoping to be guardians of his example. In separate news regarding healthcare funding, Senator Beatrice Lorenzin of the Democratic Party spoke at the Sumai Assoprof national congress in Rome. She argued that gradually reaching seven percent of GDP for the National Health Service fund is a necessity, not propaganda. Six regions have appealed for at least six billion euros more annually. The State-Regions Conference made the same request two weeks prior, and Minister Schillaci expressed agreement before summer. Currently, the available funds amount to only two and a half billion euros, failing even to cover inflation. Lorenzin noted that without adequate financing, it will be difficult to make work in the health service attractive or guarantee necessary personnel for the territorial network. Specialists attending the congress expressed willingness to contribute to the new assistance network. Lorenzin questioned when all parties would sit together to reorganize the entire system of territorial medicine.