ANCONA The patrol of 22 daredevils hunting for a golden seat in Brussels. There are many people from the Marche region who, between now and the call to the polls on 8 and 9 June, will compete in the complicated field of the European elections. In a constituency like that of Central Italy which, in addition to us and Umbria, includes heavyweights such as Tuscany and Lazio, getting someone elected is almost impossible. And in fact we haven’t been able to do it for exactly 20 years. This time, however, the stock exchanges give good odds to the Fratelli d’Italia regional councilor Carlo Ciccioli, driven by the favorable wind blowing over the party. But in reality for many of the candidates this consultation has a more glocal flavor: it does look at Europe, but it implies a horizon focused on regional borders.
The dynamics
However the game ends, whether we manage to elect a MEP from the Marche or return home empty-handed as per tradition, the political balance will be affected in both halves of the field. In the centre-right, the challenge is for the silver medal: given that FdI will come first in terms of votes, Forza Italia could overtake the League. And if this happened, the Carroccio made in Marche (not just the national one) would fall apart, calling into question even its leaders. The inexorable decline of the party that began with the 2022 policies would reach its lowest point and the strength of numbers in the Region, the result of the 2020 exploit, would lose all value. The Lega candidates Mirco Carloni and Anna Menghi will have to bend over backwards to contribute their votes. Especially the deputy and former regional councilor, who wants to demonstrate to the party its specific weight in the Marche.
The two halves of the sky
Reasoning not very different from what, in the other half of the field, the dems Matteo Ricci and Alessia Morani are doing, to which Michele Franchi was added last minute – at the express request of the national secretary Elly Schlein. A move, that of also bringing in the “third wheel”, seen by many as an attempt to weaken the outgoing mayor of Pesaro. For Ricci and Morani, the European elections represent the party primaries to choose the future gubernatorial candidate and, also in this case, the electoral result could change the internal balance of the regional Democratic Party. At the moment, the former deputy is in the majority of the party, while Ricci de facto leads the minority: if, however, the tricolor band were to obtain a particularly favorable result in terms of votes, leaving its opponent behind, that same minority would have a nice string to his bow to start making requests (and demands). Apart from the internal duel, the Democratic Party will also have to deal with an external enemy-friend: the 5 Star Movement. In 2019 the European elections were not at all kind to the Five Star Movement, who saw their consensus significantly reduced.
Now they are attacking the Dems by fishing in the same electoral pool and attempting an overtaking that is anything but simple. In the Marche region, former parliamentarians Mirella Emiliozzi and Sergio Romagnoli will attempt the feat. The other six lists in the running will have the threshold as their main competitor, which in the European elections is 4%. We are talking about the Green Left Alliance (which also managed to field important names at a national level), the European Republican Action/Movement tandem, United States of Europe, which unites Italia viva and +Europa, Freedom of Cateno De Luca, Peace Land and Dignity by Michele Santoro, Popular Sovereign Democracy by Marco Rizzo and, last minute, Popular Alternative by Stefano Bandecchi. The kamikaze patrol is in the pits: the race can begin.
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