Lega boss Matteo Salvini with Lucia Borgonzoni, his party’s top candidate for the regional elections in Emilia-Romagna. Image: AP
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Ice-cold shower for Salvini – what the electoral defeat means for the Lega
After his defeat in the regional elections in Emilia-Romagna, Lega boss Matteo Salvini first has to bury his national claim to power. The left owes its victory to the young citizens’ movement of the “sardines”.
«I don’t feel like a loser: sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. And if I lose, I’m still happy, ”said Matteo Salvini the night before Monday, when his defeat in Emilia-Romagna began to emerge.
In fact, the Lega boss was able to console himself with the fact that in the wealthy region, which has been governed by left-wing coalitions for over seventy years, tension first came up in an election campaign and a victory for the right seemed in sight. But in the end he missed the hoped-for victory, and it was still relatively clear: the candidate for the Social Democratic Partito Democratico (PD), Stefano Bonaccini, won 51.4 percent of the vote, Lega candidate Lucia Borgonzoni 43.6 percent.
Ice cold shower for Salvini
Even if Salvini did not want to admit it, the elections in Emilia-Romagna were an icy shower for him. The Lega boss, whose stated goal is to become head of government as soon as possible, had stylized the election to a national referendum on himself and declared it a “historic turning point” and a plebiscite against the government of Giuseppe Conte: Salvini wanted to demonstrate that he has the majority of the votes even in a region that has traditionally been left-wing.
In his opinion, if he could have conquered the red stronghold, it would have been clear that new elections were due. The Capitano has to bury his dream of “sending the Conte government ahead of schedule” as he has announced.
“The sardines woke us up”
Salvini drove into the parade especially the «sardines» he had long laughed at: the first movement founded two and a half months ago With her flash mobs organized via Facebook, the left-wing voters were able to mobilize in large numbers: At 67 percent, the turnout in Emilia-Romagna was almost twice as high as in the last ballot.
Italy’s swarm of sardines sings
Video: srf
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Before the “Sardines” held their first rally against right-wing populism, hate speech and racism in Bologna on November 14, PD candidate Bonaccini was 6 percentage points behind the Lega candidate in the polls. After over a hundred more flash mobs of “sardines” across Italy, Bonaccini won on election evening with a lead of almost 8 percentage points. “The ‘sardines’ woke us up, they were crucial. They would have to build a memorial to them, »said PD Orlando Vice-President Andrea Orlando on Monday.
New tensions expected
At the same time as the pioneering election in Emilia-Romagna, a new regional government was also elected in Calabria on Sunday. In the region in the deep south, the right-wing coalition dominated by Salvini was able to prevail. Jole Santelli of the Berlusconi party Forza Italia is the new president of Calabria with 55.4 percent of the vote. Their non-party candidate Pippo Callipo, supported by a center-left alliance, got 30 percent.
Salvini’s legal bloc, which includes Forza Italia and the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia, has won in nine out of ten regional elections since the national parliamentary elections in March 2018. The triumphal procession of Salvini only came to a halt in Emilia-Romagna.
Take a deep breath for the Conte government
Thanks to the victory in the red stronghold, the independent Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte can take a deep breath. His coalition of the five-star movement, the PD and some small parties has ruled Italy since September 2019. Previously, the five stars, also with Conte as prime minister, had formed a coalition with the Lega – until Salvini made his own government in a memorable combination political wrongdoing and personal overestimation in August brought down. So far, the new government has been largely paralyzed because the two coalition partners are practically divided on all issues.
Defended the left stronghold: Regional President Stefano Bonaccini may continue to rule in Emilia-Romagna. Picture: EPA
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New tensions should not be long in coming: The five-star movement suffered two more devastating defeats in the regional elections on Sunday and has also been stuck since Resignation of Luigi Di Maio, head of politics in a leadership crisis last week.
In 2018, the five stars in the parliamentary elections had become the strongest party in the country with 32.7 percent – on Sunday their candidate reached Emilia-Romagna, where she was launched with the first «Vaffa Day» by comedian Beppe Grillo in 2007 was just 3.5 percent. The protest movement is fighting for its survival – which will not help stabilize the Conte government – on the contrary. (Aargauerzeitung.ch)
