In the first round the duel in the provincial capitals ended 10 to 5 for the centre-left. Today at 3pm, when the counting of the ballots in the other 14 (out of a total) will begin 105 Municipalities to vote, including one in Sardinia and three in Sicily), it will be interesting to understand if the center-right has taken its revenge. In nine cities (Vercelli, Cremona, Vibo Valentia, Caltanissetta, Rovigo, Urbino, Potenza, Campobasso and Lecce) the government coalition was ahead in the round of 8 and 9 June. In the other five (Florence, Bari, Avellino, Perugia and Verbania) the centre-left mayoral candidates finished ahead.
This afternoon the final assessment will be made which, having archived the results of the European Championships and although it is an administrative round, will also be given a political reading, net of local specificities. Especially with regard to the most relevant cities. Two above all: Florence And Bari. In the game of flags that will inevitably fascinate the experts, their flags will be the ones observed first, to understand if the attempt to conquer two “red” strongholds was successful or if continuity prevailed. In both the outgoing mayor is an expression of the Democratic Party. In the Tuscan capital the witness left by Dario Nardella (elected to Brussels) has passed to Sara Funaro who has to deal with the former director of the Uffizi Eike Schmidt.
In Bari, however, the former head of cabinet of Antonio Decaro (in turn landed in the European Parliament), Vito Leccese he must repel the assault brought on him by the Northern League member Fabio Romito as standard-bearer of the centre-right. In both cases, the Democratic Party candidates in the run-off received the support of the 5 Star Movement (Funaro also that of the candidate of Italia viva, Stefania Saccardiin dissent from Matteo Renzi). The vote in Florence and Bari has a clear political significance also in view of the regional elections which in both cases will be held next year. Tuscany And Puglia they are two of the only 4 Regions led by the centre-left, respectively by presidents Eugenio Giani And Michele Emiliano (on paper he is not eligible for re-election for the maximum two mandates). The result in the capital therefore has the value of indicating a trend, even if it involves confirming an already majority coalition.
For the same reasons, but even more relevant because the vote for the Regionals should be held between September and October, the all-female challenge which is played in Perugia. In the first round the gap between the two contenders was very minimal: Vittoria Ferdinandi (centre-left) stopped at 49 percent, followed by Margherita Scoccia with 48.3 percent. The Region, let us remember, is led by the centre-right with the Northern League president, ready to run again, Donatella Tesei. Again to remain between administrative and political data, in the 14 capital municipalities on the ballot there will no longer be mayors representing the 5 Star Movement (the first outgoing citizens of Campobasso and Caltanissetta were), a confirmation of the rootedness in the territories of the political force led by Giuseppe Conte which has always been problematic and which has further loosened.
The last aspect to look at carefully is thevoter turnout. Remembering that the first round had already recorded a decline compared to the previous municipal elections, the run-off by its nature involves a drastic reduction in voter participation. Voters who do not recognize themselves in the two challengers remaining in the race do not go to the polls. No surprise, therefore, if the data recorded at 12 (11.98 percent) indicated a drop in turnout of about ten points. At 7pm he had voted 27.9 percent (-7 percent). But it was an expected outcome. The mayoral candidates knew that the real challenge would be played on the ability to bring as many voters back to the polls as possible fifteen days later. Tonight we will see who was the most convincing.
