i Roberto Sanna
Sassari The political parenthesis of Gavino Mariotti, the rector of the University of Sassari who presented himself in the local elections at the head of a coalition that included the centre-right parties, the Sardinians and two civic lists, has already ended: «I am not a politician and I have already returned to be the rector of the University of Sassari” is the concise written message with which Mariotti announced his full-time return to his office at the central University, in Piazza Università. This also means that, unless there are second thoughts or other official communications, he will not even sit on the benches of the city council at Palazzo Ducale and will leave his place to another centre-right candidate.
A decision that was in the air, after the great disappointment expressed on Monday evening at the end of the electoral count which saw the triumph of the Campo Largo candidate Giuseppe Mascia already in the first round, subverting most of the predictions which saw the position of mayor assigned only at the end of a ballot. In reality, there were three strong candidates: in addition to Mascia and Mariotti, Nicola Lucchi, an expression of the Civici group that had governed for five years with Nanni Campus at the helm, also aimed to play it all off in a head-to-head contest. And to tell the truth, the predicted duel was the one between Giuseppe Mascia and one between Lucchi and Mariotti.
The bank, however, collapsed almost immediately and the center-right finished in third place with 16 percent, 35 points behind the winner. The rector had immediately released only a written statement from which one could sense both disappointment and a probable farewell to politics: «I take note of the results which testify to a fact: the centre-right, Sardinian, civic and autonomist coalition , which I had the honor of leading, did not find favor with voters. I sincerely thank all the candidates on the lists who supported me, and I express my deepest respect towards all the citizens of Sassari and their vote. I send my best wishes to those who will be called to administer our Sassari which I will continue to serve with dedication and love.” He will do so, in fact, from his office as rector, where he will remain in office until the end of 2026. Mariotti was elected in December 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, with electronic voting at the end of a consultation characterized by lively controversy due to the numerous postponements on the date.
In the coalition’s intentions, his was to be an important name capable of giving a decisive push to the center-right, which in 2019 had closed the first electoral round equally in third place with 16 percent. However, the trend has not changed, as it has highlighted a stalemate at the local level of the parties that instead dominate at the national level. All this in an electoral round in which it must be underlined that none of the three strong candidates managed to make a difference and drag the lists along, as can be seen from the number of personal preferences compared with those of the lists.
