Surprisingly, the center-right is ahead in Venice, while the former governor Vincenzo De Luca wins in Salerno. Meloni: “A victory in the first round in Venice would be world-wide”.
A few hours before the start of the counting for the administrative electionsis outlined a positive picture for the centre-rightwhich seems to confirm and in some cases expand its results compared to the day before. Less encouraging, but this is no longer news, is the turnout data.
Where the vote was taken
In the North the most evocative match was that of Venicewhere the center-right attempted to defend the legacy of Luigi Brugnarooutgoing mayor, deploying his councillor Simone Venturiniagainst the Democratic Party senator Andrea Martella.
In the South, all eyes were on Salerno, where the former governor Vincenzo De Luca he attempted to retake the city where he was first elected mayor in 1993.
In Reggio Calabria, the center-right has deployed eleven lists in support of Francesco Cannizzarodeputy group leader of Forza Italia in the Chamber, also supported by Action.
The turnout
The overall turnout stood at around 60.1%, down about five points compared to the previous round, when it was 64.9%.
The downward trend confirms Italians’ growing disaffection with politics. Among the Tuscan capitals, the decline was particularly marked in Prato, where participation stopped at 55.72% compared to the previous 64.01%, and in Arezzo at 59.30% compared to 66.97%.
Centre-right ahead in Venice and Reggio Calabria, De Luca triumphs in Salerno
In Venice the centre-right was surprisingly ahead. Simone Venturini, when 57 out of 256 sections were scrutinized, came out ahead with 55.3% of preferences, while Andrea Martella of the centre-left follows with 35.8%.
An unexpected victory for the center-right in the first round could therefore be announced. An eventuality that Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni defined as “global”as reported by the Venetian senator of Fratelli d’Atalia, Raffaele Speranzon, directly from the electoral committee.
In Reggio Calabria the victory of Francesco Cannizzaro in the first round it already appears outlined: the projections place it between the 64 and 68% of consensus, with Domenico Battaglia of the centre-left stuck between 21 and 25%.
The centre-right candidate is also ahead in Arezzo, Marcello Comanducciwho leads with the 46.1%the centre-left candidate Vincenzo Ceccarelli is at 33.5%, while Marco Donati, supported by civic lists and Action, stops at 14.6%.
In Salerno Vincenzo De Luca triumphs with a range between 56 and 60%well outpacing its rivals.
The cities where the centre-left is ahead include Lecco, Chieti, Andria, Macerata and Mantua, while the centre-right is also leading in Pistoia and Agrigento.
The government passes the administrative test
These elections represented the first test for the majority after the defeat in the referendum on justice of March, and should have provided indications on the state of health of the government as well as on the competitiveness of the so-called broad field formed by Pd and M5S. The verdict, at least from today’s polls, rewards the center-right.
The partial results therefore seem to present a government coalition in shape in the most important places: Venice potentially conquered in the first round, Reggio Calabria conquered with a historic margin, Arezzo headed towards a favorable run-off. Three symbols that weigh.
On the opposite front, the broad Pd-M5S camp holds its ground in some cities in the Centre-North and the isolated triumph of De Luca in Salerno, even if that of the outgoing governor is a case in itself politically, built on personal roots rather than on a national wave.
The starting situation in the capitals saw 5 outgoing administrations from the centre-right, 8 from the centre-left and 5 from civic lists: the reversals will weigh in the final budget, and that of Reggio Calabria, wrested from the dem Falcomatà, is already in itself an important symbolic coup.
The impression, in light of the first data, is that at Palazzo Chigi we can breathe a sigh of relief.
