It’s been a successful visit for Luigi Di Maio, who was warmly welcomed with ovations upon arrival at Giffoni. Hundreds young jurors and grown-ups gathered to immortalized the Deputy Premier with pictures and selfies all along his way to the Citadel of Cinema, and stopped him again and again to say hallo and shake his hand. “Luigi, don’t forget about us, temporary teachers”, a young mother asked him. Afterwards he was cordially greeted by Director Claudio Gubitosi and Giffoni Experience President Pietro Rinaldi. “I’m looking forward to seeing the Multimedia Valley” - commenced the Minister referring to one of the Giffoni Festival’s iconic sites, which is swarming with life this year more than ever. Eventually, Di Maio joined the masterclassers who were waiting for him in Sala Blu and gladly replied to all their questions, including the most loaded ones.

“When I was your age – he said – I used to do the same. I attended political meetings and made a bit of fuss. I was often asked to leave, but that won’t happen to you, of course: I’m here to listen to you”. Besides, confrontation is the spice of Giffoni, is what has made it become an event known and appreciated worldwide. Di Maio knows it very well. “I’ve always thought that Giffoni is a government model. I said it when I belonged to the opposition, and now that I’m the Labor and Economic Development Minister I want to put it into practice. In this microcosm lies a government model. Communication and new technologies can positively help keeping the youth here. We need to combat juvenile emigration, because when the youth flee abroad they bring with them precious entrepreneurial ideas, so depriving the country of its social and economic strength”. To Di Maio, Giffoni is the capital of innovation: “Giffoni is the right remedy – he went on - . Major investments in technology and culture have been made here, including a start-up hub that over the years has suggested me several ideas. Now that I’m a Minister, I’ll do my best to turn them into reality”.

Last but not least, Giffoni is an internal area of the south of Italy. It’s part of the Campania region, from which Di Maio himself comes from. That’s why his speech deeply focused on the so-called “Southern Question”. “Southern Italy deserves a share of public investment proportional to the number of inhabitants, that is at least 35% of public investment. The first discussions on the budget are on schedule in December, but we’re going to start to work on it very soon. We’re going to implement every instrument necessary to support the South, with a view to support the North as well doing so. That will need systemic rather than extraordinary interventions, because the Southern Question actually is a fully-fledged national question. There are so many innovative ideas, not necessarily technological ones , that should make the youth look on the government as an ally rather than an enemy.

We are coming from the labour economics era. We then approached a smart economy and we’ve now got to experiential economy, typical of the Italian creative industry. Italy is Europe’s most creative country and 50% of job opportunities will become creative in the long run. I know southern Italy’s youth well enough, I know their difficulties and skills. I’ll do my best. I’m aware changing means moving mountains. It’s not easy, but our generation has been called to do this. I’ll give all myself because I’m 32 years old, I grew up in the province of Naples and I feel bounded to this territory».

Luigi Di Maio is part of the government today, and the youth asked for clarity regarding sensitive themes such as civil rights. How to put together the different political ideas coming from Five Star Movement and Lega? Di Maio was very clear about it: the key is the government contract. All that is not included in it will not be done because there is no agreement with Salvini: «We agree on social rights – he explained – but we don’t on civil ones, so we won’t deal with those. The Minister of Health said he wouldn’t carry out an attack on vaccines. As far as I’m concerned, the Minister must intervene if the vaccinations rate drops down. If European levels are reached, then it’s fair enough to adjust to European standards. I believe we can achieve much more than this in Italy, if we use dialogue».

The government contract is a new instrument: «For the very first time, the government chose to focus on themes first, and then people. It was unexpected for me too. There is no turncoat at all, because it was not born from a precise political identity. What we will succeed at doing is granting more social rights to citizens. In the past, civil rights have been used to take the social ones away. We will fill the social rights gap without taking away the civil ones». Is this left or right? Di Maio does not even wonder about it: «Distincion between left and right – he said – is over. Through the dignity decree I’ve dealt with priorities, such as bureaucracy reduction and precariousness. These themes don’t belong to a specific party. These are the things that people want. Citizens want Italian Constitution to be put into action, nothing more».

One last curiosity about Di Maio is the film he picked to best embody the experience of the Five Star Movement, “The Motorcycle Diaries”: «They will now say that Di Maio wants to be Che Guevara. However, I like this film because it is half way between travel, politics and emotions». Roaring applauses followed his confirmed willingness to keep supporting Giffoni along its path, then the Deputy Prime Minister left the Multimedia Valley. It was dark outside, but he also paid a visit to the stall of Telefono Azzurro and met President Ernesto Caffo. He signed a T-shirt there and greeted the jurors who approached him asking for selfies and handshakes. It was late at night when Di Maio left Giffoni, but his departure was just a goodbye not a farewell.