20/02/2023

Top of Mind: Regional Elections

  • Home to more than 15 million residents combined (a quarter of the national population), Italy’s two most important regions hold elections this weekend that will provide Premier Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing allies with their first ballot-box test since her winning in September

  • Lazio, which is centered on the national capital Rome , and Lombardy, home to the financial capital Milan, generate a third of the Italy’s GDP

  • Internal divisions have repeatedly hobbled the left in recent years

  • These regional elections were seen as a popularity test for Premier Meloni’s Government – and it was widely expected to pass with a comfortable win for right candidates in both regions

  • The vote might yet destabilize the ruling coalition if Fratelli d’Italia continues to cannibalize its partners

  • Right won in Lazio and Lombardy
  • First major vote since last September’s national election
  • The better-than-expected balanced outcome should not fuel rivalries in ruling national coalition
  • The two regions voting

    • Nearly 10 million population
    • About Euro 370 billion GDP
    • 80 Councilors
    • Governed by: Center-right
    • President: Attilio Fontana (Lega)
    • 5.7 million population
    • About Euro 190 billion GDP
    • 51 Councilors
    • Governed by: Center-left
    • President: Nicola Zingaretti (PD)

    Candidates – Lombardy

    Candidates – Lazio

    EXIT POLLS

    The results in a nutshell

    • According the Interior Ministry, regional elections saw a low turnout -37.1% in Lazio and 41.6% in Lombardy (almost half than 5 years ago)
    • However, in 2018, the ’Election Day’ was also for national elections

    LOMBARDY

    • Outgoing President Attilio Fontana (Lega) reelected with 54.6%: “The first feeling is joy for the people of Lombardy who have understood our work

    • FdI is first with 25.1%, overtaking Lega (16.5%) in its northern strong hold, and Forza Italia that won 7.2%

    • MEP Pierfrancesco Majorino (PD), also supported by M5S, is a distant second with 33.9%

    • Letizia Moratti (Third Pole) at 9.8%

    LAZIO

    • Francesco Rocca elected with 53.8%

    • FdI at 33.5%,while Lega and Forza Italia polled respectively at 8.5% and 8.4%

    • PD at 20.2%, Third Pole at 4.8%

    • M5S at 10.7%

    Voices from Leaders

    • Giorgia Meloni (FdI):“This result consolidates the compactness of the center-right and strengthens the work of the Government”

    • Matteo Salvini (Lega):“Thank you Lombardy, thank you Lazio”

    • Silvio Berlusconi (FI) called the Premier and leader of FdI, Giorgia Meloni, and the Deputy Premier and leader of Lega, Matteo Salvini, and congratulated the coalition’s great success in the regional elections in Lombardy and Lazio

    •  Enrico Letta (PD) said the regional election results showed that an alleged ‘takeover bid’ against the PD by the leftwing 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the centrist ‘Third Pole’ had failed and “hurt those who attempted it. PD firmly remains the second political force (following FdI) and the main opposition party”

    • Giuseppe Conte (M5S):“Letta uncorks champagne, but delivers Lazio to the right”

    • Carlo Calenda (Third Pole):“The right won. The construction of a single party of the reformist, liberal and popular center becomes even more urgent”

    SO WHAT

    Key Takeaways

    • The turnout in regional elections in Lazio and Lombardy Sunday and Monday was almost half what it was the last time the regions voted. However, in 2018, the ’Election Day’ was also for national elections

    • Premier Giorgia Meloni’s victories in Lombardy and Lazio strengthen her hand against Government partners, but not too much: the good result of civic list ‘Fontana Presidente’ reinforces Salvini’s position (Fontana belongs to Lega)

    • Lazio, the region which includes Rome, arguably comes as a bigger blow for the left, which has governed the area for the past 10 years

    • Center-right has control of 15 out of 20 regions, underscoring its growing hegemony across the country

    • United center-right won, the center-left presented two different coalitions in two regions. In Lazio, PD and M5S stood two separate candidates, but the strategy turned out to be a strategic blunder, dividing the left-wing votes and paving the way for a right-wing victory

    • Letizia Moratti, being third is out of the elected in the Regional Council. She said that from this defeat a new political proposal will born.

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    Contact

    hello@haizum.eu

    P. IVA 12561140968

    Via Pattari, 6, 20122 Milano MI

    Proud member of

    Follow us on

    © 2022 Created by ABCPRODUCTION.digital