No surprises. Luigi Lobuono’s impossible mission against the battleship represented by Antonio Decaro (pictured) not only collided with the personal popularity of the PD candidate, but also against the power of the now consolidated “Emilian system” that had dominated the Apulian political scene for twenty years and which had guaranteed the Apulian PD and Decaro himself a wide network of consensus. The center-left candidate received 65% of the vote, while the center-right candidate stopped at 33.3%. “It was an extraordinary experience with results that exceeded all expectations”, were the first words of the new president of the Region of Puglia. Decaro, aware of the high level of abstentionism in Puglia, voted only 41.82% compared to 56.43% in the previous round, and identified dissatisfaction as one of the main problems that must be addressed. “My policy will not be a ring policy, I will work in my own way because I have no enemies, only enemies,” he said, promising collaboration with any national government.
Luigi Lobuono, for his part, acknowledged the defeat and paid tribute to his challenger, highlighting the difficulty in influencing a candidate “of a very high level, who has been involved in politics for twenty years”. Details that underscore the influence Michele Emiliano’s long political season had on the vote. Lobuono acknowledged the limitations of a campaign that started late: “I gave everything, I traveled almost 16,000 kilometers in a month. It was an election campaign that started late, it would have taken me 2-3 months but all the parties did their part, I always had regional councilors by my side. However, I faced a high-level challenger, who has been involved in politics for twenty years, was mayor of Bari and won almost 500,000 votes in the last European elections.”
On the party side, the projections confirm the solidity of the progressive bloc: the Democratic Party is in first place with 26.9%, the “Decaro Presidente” list reaches 12.4% and the M5S stops at 8.7%. Figures that not only validate the candidate’s performance, but also confirm the effectiveness of the extensive placement built over the years by Emiliano and now available to Decaro. On the centre-right, FdI was 16.8%, Forza Italia was 8.6%, Lega was 7.3%, Noi Moderati was 1.2%.
The new governor, who was dismissive of national proposals, avoided a leap forward: “The Democratic Party already has a secretary, I will now be president of Apulia”. Emiliano on the other hand joked: “Now I just want to rest and have fun. Twenty years has been hard.” A joke that, however, perfectly describes the reality: its political-administrative roots for twenty years have offered organizational continuity, territorial presence and an apparatus accustomed to winning.
From the right, Marcello Gemmato defends Lobuono’s choice: “Five years ago we achieved more or less 37%, we remain at the same level. I’m proud to be at his side”. But the political facts remain: Decaro won thanks to his personal consensus, but also by drawing on a legacy of relationships, administration and consensus that continue to prove decisive in Puglia.
