VENICE. As expected, the breakdown of the coalitions, but also the internal split within the League, resulted some reversals in the results of the ballots in Veneto, with the “fortress” of Vittorio Veneto which was conquered by the centre-left after decades of prevalence of the Northern League.
Rovigo, the only provincial capital called to renew the municipal administration, saw the definitive defeat of the outgoing mayor, Edoardo Gaffeo, who after being disheartened by the Democratic Party had attempted to rebuild a “wide field” with the support of the M5S. Having already started heavily late, from 28.1% he managed to climb back up to 41.86%. Not enough to overcome though Valeria Cittadin, the candidate of the center-right plus Action, a school director and former CISL trade unionist, who had come close to being elected in the first round with 49.1% and today has risen to 58.24%. “We will try to understand – commented Gaffeo – what were the aspects on which it was necessary to work further in the face of the compact centre-right. The centre-left has chosen to divide, condemning the city to the failure of this project”.
The most politically interesting challenge was in Vittorio Veneto, in the province of Trevisowhere the revenge of the former Northern League member and former MEP Toni Da Re, expelled from the party for having offended Salvini, was “half-consumed”, and who presented his own list with a candidate different from that of the League, Gianluca Posocco, finding the support of Forza Italia. The Northern League member Giovanni Braido, also supported by Fdi, ended up out of the ballot.
To win today in the former Northern League stronghold it was the “third wheel” of the centre-left, Mirella Balliana (photo), who started with 41.23% in the first round and prevailed with 53.66%.
The split in the centre-right had no consequences in Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza), where the League had dumped its outgoing mayor, Elena Pavan, to nominate its own regional councilor Nicola Finco. In the first round it was essentially a three-way race, with Finco, who had only found the support of Fi, admitted to the ballot with 25.1%; Pavan, with the support of Fdi, was out of contention with 23.03%. The centre-left candidate, Roberto Campagnolo, was the most voted in the first round (28.1%). Today, however, Finco overtook him, winning by a narrow margin with 51.57%.
