Italians go to the polls. In fact, to be precise, citizens of Lazio and Lombardy are being called upon to vote to renew their regional councils and elect their own governors. It’s the first electoral test after the smashing victory of Giorgia Meloni and the Brothers of Italy in the last political election. And it is precisely the centre-right coalition that has emerged as the big favorite in the starting line of these administrative elections.
It will be possible to vote both from 7 to 23 on Sunday 12 and from 7 to 15 on Monday 13 February. As soon as the polls are closed, the counting of the votes will begin and it will be possible to know already within the day. names of elected governors. To vote, you will need to go to the polls with your voting card and a valid document.
The ‘ghost’ of low participation hovers over consultations and their results. As a matter of fact, the last general elections once again revealed the composure of the citizen-voters towards politics. Many observers are willing to bet that turnout will be below 50%.
There are at least two reasons of political interest for this round of elections. The first concerns the centre-right, where it will be important to gauge the strength of the Brothers of Italy compared to the government partner parties. This could be a problem for the prime minister’s leadership if the gap between Giorgia Meloni’s party and Lega and Forza Italia paradoxically widens further. At this point it is not difficult to assume that the “distinctions” between the Azzurri and the Northern League may become more frequent and visible in terms of Meloni’s goals.
The second reason for interest is about the centre-left. The centre-left, in this election round, where the Democratic Party allies in Lazio not with the M5S but with the third pole, and in Lombardy with the M5S, not the third pole. Here, it will be important to understand the health of the Democrats on the eve of the primaries for the new secretary election: If the M5S beat the Democratic Party in Lazio, an alarm bell would immediately go off for the new secretary. dem leader.
Regional elections: how to vote?
Voting on Sunday and Monday is very simple. The voter can choose from the same coalition or a different coalition the presidential candidate and the Council candidate, or two candidates for the Council, but of varying genders, one male and one female. Therefore, the so-called split voting is allowed. The president who gets one more vote wins. There is no ballot.
Regional elections in Lombardy
Attilio Fontana seeks approval in this 2023 regional election. Despite difficulties during Covid, the outgoing governor is showing himself as the big favorite in the starting line of this election round; polls show that the centre-right coalition is clearly ahead of the rest; also, it was not possible to build a so-called “wide field” in the centre-left field that would allow them to compete against an opponent who was historically very strong in Lombardy.
In fact, the so-called third pole – namely the cluster between Matteo Renzi’s party Italia Viva and Calenda’s party Action – has decided to present itself independently of Pd, the former councilor of candidate Fontana Letizia Moratti. Milan’s centre-right mayor. It’s a nomination that could certainly steal votes from the centre-right, but which the Democrats have decided is impossible to present to their voters. For Fontana, however, it’s a split on the field opposite center-right that – presumably – opens up the reaffirmation broadly.
That’s why the Democratic Party is betting everything on its man Pierfrancesco Majorino, who is also supported by the Five Star Movement. Former secretary of the Milan Democratic Party and then the group leader of the Democrats in the city council, Majorino is now a member of parliament closely linked to the region and a candidate to govern.
According to all the polls seen up to 15 days before the poll ban came into effect, Attilio Fontana’s advantage seemed insurmountable, reaching even twenty points for some polling institutes. A decisive factor, obviously, will have to do with the “centrist” candidate Letizia Moratti’s ability to attract votes for the outgoing governor. If the operation conceived by Calenda and Renzi were successful, Majorino might have a chance to keep the game open.
Lazio regional elections
Who will be Nicola Zingaretti’s heir? Lazio voters are being called to answer this question, as they go to the polls on Sunday and Monday to renew the district council and elect a new governor. As a matter of fact, the former secretary of the Democratic Party resigned from the regional presidency after choosing to go to the Senate by somehow accepting Enrico Letta’s invitation to withdraw from the Democratic Party list in the last general elections.
However, the main point of this election race is the lack of consensus between the Democratic Party and the 5 Star Movement. It’s a combination between the M5S and the centre-left, which co-ruled in this last regional legislature. However, the alliance failed to withstand the national split between Giuseppe Conte and Enrico Letta; The waste-to-power plant dispute appears to have created an incurable rift between the two sides that could only have significant consequences on Monday’s election results.
The centre-left, in agreement with the third pole, hence Italia Viva and Azione, chose to focus on outgoing health adviser Alessio D’Amato. D’Amato has returned from a good job dealing with the Covid emergency, but according to many his candidacy is not strong enough to impose itself on a centre-right that has many advantages at the coalition level. Above all, the left wing of the Democratic Party “blames” Alessio D’Amato for failing to create that broad space to include the M5S in the coalition. Hence a broad coalition that would allow the centre-left to aim to conquer Pisana.
The 5 Star Movement, which broke away from the Democratic Party, is betting on the well-known face of Italian television, Donatella Bianchi. Selected by Giuseppe Conte to run in the Lazio regional elections, the journalist has a long experience within the walls of Viale Mazzini. In addition to being the host of Linea Blu, Bianchi hosted regional Tg3 and was the reporter of another much-loved show: “Sereno Variabile”, hosted at the time by Osvaldo Bevilacqua and Maria Giovanna Elmi.
The centre-right, after lengthy negotiations, decided to nominate Francesco Rocca, the former head of the Italian Red Cross. Rocca, a man very close to Giorgia Meloni, reveals himself as the man who must be defeated in this election race. According to the polls released up to the moment of possible spread, Rocca was ahead of his more aggressive opponent, Alessio D’Amato.
Especially in Lazio, where turnout is low, as in the last municipal election, when less than 50% of the beneficiaries vote, the final result may become unpredictable, however, as neither of the two main candidates is a recognized face. citizens.
What is certain is that there is a great opportunity for redemption in Lazio for the centre-right, namely to reconquer Pisana after Nicola Zingaretti’s long reign; The centre-right’s latest victory in Lazio dates back to 2010, when Renata Polverini beat Pd candidate Emma Bonino in the photo finish. However, this regional legislature went bankrupt a few years later due to investigations into the “frantic spending” of centre-right district councilors, which forced the former Ugl leader to resign prematurely.
Source: Today IT
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
