Prime Minister Meloni: “I sincerely thank all the citizens who wanted to confirm their support for our policies”
Of Alessandra Lemme,
April 23, 2024
Vito Bardi wins his second term as president of Basilicata trailing the challenger Piero Marrese by an abundant double-digit percentage. It is 8pm on Monday when the president supported by the centre-right, with Italia viva and Action, declares victory: “While waiting for a figure closer to the definitive one – he says via note – a clear victory for our coalition is in any case emerging ”.
The counting proceeds slowly, in five hours a quarter of the sections are scrutinized, but that’s enough for the Lucanian centre-right candidate to be certain of victory. And soon comes the congratulatory phone call from the challenger and then the compliments from the leaders, starting with the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni which thanks “heartily all the citizens who wanted to confirm their support for our policies”.
“Your trust – adds the Prime Minister – is the engine that pushes us forward every day”. Forza Italia’s satisfaction was great with the secretary and deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani rejoicing on social media: “The Forza Italia candidate won.
The united center-right won. The Lucanians who chose to support our Good Government for another 5 years won. Turnout is decreasing and does not reach half of those entitled to vote (49.8%). At 2 in the morning, with the counting almost complete (672 sections out of 682), the vote count says 56.51% for the outgoing governor against 42.3% for Marrese, Fratelli d’Italia reaches 17.27% and is first party in the Region, followed by the Democratic Party at 14% and Forza Italia at 13%, while the M5S stops at around 7.6%.
In the centre-right the coldest comment comes from the League which ends up with 7.73%, just above Action, at 7.57%. Northern League sources limit themselves to speaking of “yet another major success of the united centre-right”, while Carlo Calenda assures that he has “no sense of guilt” for having made the centre-right win in Basilicata and takes a pebble off his shoe: “We are a republican party – he states in an interview on Rete4 – then in Basilicata the question has not arisen precisely because there was Conte’s veto against us and Bardi has governed well and is a moderate and a popular pro-European”. For his part, the leader of Italia viva Matteo Renzi expresses “great satisfaction” and recalls that he was “the first to support Vito Bardi also by virtue of an ancient friendship”.
Tags: Basilicata Regionals Bardi triumphs Marrese
