Sicily Says Enough

In Sicilian politics, a kiss is usually just a kiss. There were plenty to go around last week as Sicily's regional President, Salvatore Cuffaro, hit the campaign trail ahead of his re-election bid this Sunday. During a morning presentation of his policy platform, the stout and smiling 48-year-old was sharing two-cheek kisses with almost every supporter who passed through campaign headquarters. Later, he arrived at the poorly-equipped Villa Sofia Hospital in northern Palermo to pledge four new outpatient beds for a multiple sclerosis treatment center. The 100 or so patients and family members assembled in the steamy third-floor corridor were a bit testy with the late-in-the-race promises, but Cuffaro cooled them down and eventually planted baci on the cheeks of various doctors, nurses, patients and even the woman sweeping the neurology department entryway (with her broom still in hand). This, says Cuffaro, is the heart and bones of his approach to politics. "It's the duty of the President of Sicily to meet with all Sicilians," he told Time. "Over the years, I've probably met 50% of the citizens of this region, personally — and half of those I've kissed!"

But according to Sicilian prosecutors, not all of the jovial pol's human contacts have been so innocent. The former radiologist is on trial for charges of allegedly aiding the Mafia. Investigators say the regional President tipped off an acquaintance that his conversations were being bugged by police in an ongoing probe into the network providing insider tips to Cosa Nostra's boss of bosses, Bernardo Provenzano. Cuffaro denies any wrongdoing or Mafia ties, and has refused calls by opponents to forego his run for a second five-year term. During an interview at his storefront Palermo headquarters — with some 25 aides and supporters crammed into his office to look on — Cuffaro brushed off suggestions that he should pay closer attention to the company he keeps: "If I have the chance to shake the hand of every Sicilian, even with the risk of shaking the wrong hand, it's a risk I'm prepared to take."

The perennial Mafia question is once again at the center of an election campaign to lead the semi-autonomous region of 5 million people. The vote comes just seven weeks after Provenzano was captured by police in the hills near his hometown of Corleone, following four decades on the lam. And beyond that high-profile arrest, and Cuffaro's legal cloud, there is a center-left challenger whose very presence offers a stark reminder of organized crime's grip on this complicated island. Cuffaro's rival is Rita Borsellino, 60, the sister of Paolo Borsellino, a prominent magistrate who was killed by the Mafia in 1992 when his parked car was blown to pieces. The slaying of Borsellino and his five bodyguards came just three months after his friend and prosecutor colleague Giovanni Falcone met the same fate on a highway bridge near the Palermo airport (now named Falcone-Borsellino, like so many streets and piazzas across Sicily).