Some 11 and a half million voters went to the polls through Monday to elect governors in Veneto, Campania and Puglia as well as their respective regional councils. Partial data noted a significant decline in voter turnout across the region on Sunday evening. Figures provided by the Ministry of the Interior at 23.00 showed turnout in Veneto at 33.69%, Puglia at 29.40% and Campania at 31.87%.
However, the data was not entirely encouraging, even after the leaders applied to vote. With these three Regions came the end of a long round of elections that lasted for months and also saw the citizens of Marche and Val d’Aosta (28 September), Calabria (5 October) and Tuscany (12 October) called to vote. On Monday, starting at 15.00, it will be possible to draw conclusions regarding the disputes between the center-right and the center-left, without forgetting some internal disputes between the two poles and also within each party, such as those of the outgoing governors, Luca Zaia and Vincenzo De Luca.
In Veneto and Campania, both outgoing presidents failed in their attempts to introduce the possibility of a third mandate, which was stopped both by political parties and by the Constitutional Court. Zaia was unable to convince the League and its allies of the opportunity to present his own list and run alongside his party. If on the one hand, through preferences, “Doge” will be able to help Salvini compete with Fdi for victory as the party with the most votes, on the other hand, his very significant personal success will also give him a political role at the national level, the reason being in several sectors of the League.
But in Campania, De Luca will not be running, but the list of “top leaders” refers to him and his administrative experience. And inevitably a “competition” opened with Democratic Party list, Elly Schlein but also her son Piero, Dem regional secretary. Even for former governor Campano, exploitation of the list would push him to carve out a new political role for himself. But in Campania, the centre-right expects a “remontada” from Edmondo Cirielli over Roberto Fico.
The centre-left feels confident in defending Campania, with a huge field from the central flank to the M5, as in Puglia. Here vying to replace Michele Emiliano are former Bari mayor Antonio Decaro, preference champion in last year’s European elections, and Luigi Lobuono. Even in Puglia, Decaro’s electoral exploits would project him, according to some reformist exponents of the Democratic Party, as a possible reference point for this component of the Democratic Party.
Regarding Veneto, besides the challenge between the center-right candidate, Alberto Stefani, and the center-left candidate, Giovanni Manildo, all eyes are on the competition between Fdi and Lega to become the first party, also considering the regional elections in Lombardy.
