Such a “slow and atypical” electoral campaign we hadn’t seen her for a long time. On the one hand, hundreds of candidates with holy cards in their hands and, on the other, the fear (more than well-founded) that the party of abstention will once again dominate. Fratelli d’Italia is preparing to dominate the political scene of the Piedmont regional council unchallenged, with a relative majority that will influence the balance of government. Turin remains the unknown. At the time of the clash with the then candidate Sergio Chiamparino, the Piedmontese capital had resisted as a Democratic fort. Today the result could be very different. We talked about it with Giacomo Portas, leader of the Moderates in Turin and expert in electoral campaigns and polls.
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According to the latest projections, Cirio is the winner with 59% of the votes. Pentenero, however, is stuck at 27%. Sarah Disabato at 11. Is everything already written?
«Let’s remember that the polls are done today, but we will vote in twenty days. However, it seems clear to me that there has not been the “remuntada” hoped for by the centre-left”.
What, in your opinion, was the left’s mistake? Are you convinced by the choice to nominate Gianna Pentenero?
«I believe that beyond the name of Pentenero, there is a national trend that sees the center-right strongly ahead everywhere. This is a fact that goes well beyond the capabilities of individual candidates. I think, for example, that Sarah Disabato is interpreting the electoral campaign well, even though she is far from my political tastes.”
Let’s look then at the centre-right. If it goes as predicted by the polls, there will also be repercussions in the composition of the new regional council and then in the distribution of departments. What scenario can we imagine?
«Fratelli d’Italia will dominate, in every sense. In the poll evaluations we talk about a majority of 14 or 16 councilors out of 30. It will be the leading party in Piedmont, with percentages ranging from 25 to 28%.”
And Forza Italia?
«Forza Italia is making a comeback, it will certainly get a good result. A different discussion must be made for the League. Five years ago the Northern League had brought home 37.1%. It seems to me that this result, from all the polls I see, is difficult to replicate. Today the League risks losing 55 to 65% of the votes.”
President Cirio’s civic list remains.
«I think it will go around 5-6%».
How do these data impact the division of departments?
«Regardless of political choices, the party that gets the most votes will dominate. Warning: the sum of all the parties in the coalition risks being similar to that of the Brothers of Italy.”
Turin. In your opinion, will the capital remain a fiefdom of the centre-left?
«The PD and Fdi will compete as the first party in Turin. We will need to understand if Cirio – who will get more votes than the sum of the parties – will also be able to win in Turin.”
Then there is the issue of abstention.
«I predict that there will be a very strong abstention. It is clear that we are experiencing a slow and atypical electoral campaign, which is very little felt by the voters themselves. Doing something imaginative, I think that if the mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo had run against Cirio it would have been a much more interesting match.”
