POTENZA – A few hours were enough to ignite the clash between the two mayoral candidates who on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June will compete for the tricolor band of Potenza in the run-off. Without even a moment’s respite to let the results of last weekend’s double consultation in Basilicata settle. With the affirmation of the Brothers of Italy in the European vote, to the detriment of the Democratic Party galvanized by Elly Schlein and the 5 Star Movement in its declining phase. And twists in several of the 52 Lucanian centers called to renew mayors and city councils. As in Picerno, where the outgoing mayor and regional secretary of the Democratic Party, Giovani Lettieri, will have to cede the seat to a new first citizen of Northern League extraction, Margherita Scavone. And then Avigliano, Venosa, Maratea, Garaguso and Scanzano Jonico. Just to mention the most important ones.
The definitive data of the counting of the 77 seats of Potenza city arrived in the early hours of Tuesday, with the confirmation of the run-off between the candidate of the centre-right extended to Renzians and Calendians, Francesco Fanelli, with a strong 40.6% starting consensus, and Vincenzo Telesca, who reached 32.44% with the support of the majority of the Democratic Party and various civic and centrist forces. While the other mayoral candidates in the running, Pierluigi Smaldone, Francesco Giuzio and Maria Grazia Marino stopped at 17.6%, 8.5% and 1.27% respectively. What made the failure to win the Italian stripe in the first round less bitter for Fanelli, as had been hoped for several times, was the statement with which the Ministry of the Interior made it known that the seats would not be assigned, with a majority bonus for the its lists, although credited with over 50% of the votes. Because also considering the votes for the mayors alone, that 50.9% would have become 48.9%.
Having escaped the risk of Telesca’s victory with a centre-right majority in the council, Fanelli launched his attack against his rival from multiple fronts. Accusing him of being an expression of the “left of the breakdowns that wants to get their hands back on the city”. The outgoing regional health councilor also claimed the clarity of the boundaries of the coalition that supports him, highlighting the first tensions between those who pushed the two-time municipal councilor, once a member of the Democratic Party and then of Italia viva, towards the Potenza run-off, and his possible new allies. In fact, by Sunday, any alliances with the lists of the other mayoral candidates of the former Lucanian progressive front, who did not pass the first round, will have to be formalised. Namely the three by Pierluigi Smaldone: Potenza Ritorna, Città nuova and Movimento 5 stelle. Plus the list The possible Basilicata led by Francesco Giuzio. However, if an agreement in this sense capable of propitiating the reconquest of the Municipality were to be concluded, it is clear that the price to pay would be very high. Of the 20 municipal councilors to be assigned by law to the majority, in fact, 7 would be those sacrificed by the “Teleschiani” of the first hour in favor of Smaldone and him. Plus 2 if the agreement were to also extend to Giuzio and Basilicata, possible. Without considering the claims on departments and so on.
To further complicate the path to a formal alliance between Telesca and its former contenders towards the run-off in the Municipality of Potenza, there are also the names of the aspiring councilors who, in the event of a solo victory, would win one of the seats to be assigned as a result of the majority bonus. But they would stay at home if the triumph was also shared with others. Suffice it to say that among these there are three outgoing city councilors such as the current group leader of the Democratic Party in the city council, Roberto Falotico, the socialist Rocco Pergola, among the first non-elected ones, respectively, on the Uniamoci per Potenza and Democratic Potenza lists respectively. And then Anna Mecca (Uniamoci), Donato Bonomo (Potenza prima), Carmine Pace (Together), and Mirko Giordano (Democratic Power). Those who would instead see the doors of the city council open in the event of a victory for Fanelli, or for Telesca with a new enlarged coalition, are the outgoing city councilors Marco Falconeri, Valerio Tramutoli and Peppe Biscaglia, the first from the 5 Star Movement and the others from Basilicata possible. As well as a historic exponent of the Democratic Party such as Ausilia Greco (Città nuova), the green Vittoria Purtusiello and the former provincial secretary of ArticoloUno Luca Lorenzo (both from Potenza returns).
The distribution of the 20 seats belonging to the council majority, and the 12 reserved for the opposition, had proved decisive for the outcome of the run-off already 5 years ago, when another Northern League member, the outgoing mayor Mario Guarente, in turn came close to winning the first round and won the slot, managing to keep his challenger Tramutoli just 200 votes away. At the time, the representative of Basilicata Possible did not want to make any comparisons and the projections revealed that in the event of his victory, the centre-right would have taken over the 12 seats belonging to the opposition, leaving very little for the coalition led by the Democratic Party. The result was a clear drop in turnout precisely in the seats where in the first round the candidates who would have lost their seats in the event of Tramutoli’s victory had received the most votes.
