2,364,343. These are the preferences received in these European elections by Giorgia Meloni “known as Giorgia”, when there are now a handful of sections left until the end of the counting. The prime minister therefore gets her fill of votes, as widely expected throughout Italy (the most solid consensus is gathered in the North-West, with almost 623 thousand voters writing her name after her). Votes, however, which will not translate into any seats for her, since as is known she will renounce in favor of those who were behind her on the list. However, the results of the vote on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June also satisfy the other two center-right leaders – Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini. The first, with the same “magnet” approach as Meloni, ran in all the constituencies, collecting almost 400 thousand preferences. A decisive driving force to push Forza Italia above the 9.6% mark (above the League). The second record holder of preferences in the Fi house is the fearless Edmondo Tamajo in the Islands, the regional councilor registered on the lists with 5 nicknames («Edmondo Tamajo known as Tamaio, known as Di Maio, known as Edy, known as Edi, known as Eddy»). Salvini takes advantage of his ally’s overtaking, but at the same time he has a good hand at defending (even in the face of internal opponents) the choice to deploy Roberto Vannacci everywhere: the former general attracts consensus for the League, collecting overall over 530 thousand preferences (over 186 thousand in the North-West).
The Democratic Party’s vote-catchers
On the opposition front, it is above all Elly Schlein who is celebrating the day after the vote. His Pd went beyond the rosiest expectations – in the polls, at least – exceeding 24% at a national level and even snatching the title of first party in the South from FdI. This is thanks to the good consensus intercepted “instrumentally” by Schlein herself ( 200 thousand preferences between the Center and the Islands), but above all of a small leading group of candidates who got their fill of votes in the various constituencies. In the South, the outgoing mayor of Bari Antonio Decaro alone collected almost half a million votes (495,624), dwarfing the excellent result of the “neophyte” Lucia Annunziata (over 240 thousand preferences). In the North-East, rich spoils for the governor of Emilia-Romagna Stefano Bonaccini (who will leave to go to the European Parliament) with over 385 thousand preferences, while in the North-West it was above all the former president of Emergency who pushed the Democratic Party up Cecilia Strada (almost 283 thousand votes) and the mayor of Bergamo Giorgio Gori (over 210 thousand). While at the Centre, behind Schlein, Dario Nardella wins the internal “derby” of local administrators: almost 100 thousand preferences, against Matteo Ricci’s 84,530 and Nicola Zingaretti’s 82,182.
Salis and Lucano make Avs dream
The other big surprise on the opposition front was that of the Green and Left Alliance, which jumped to the European Parliament with an exciting (compared to the polls) 6.7%. Driving the group led by Nicola Fratoianni and Angelo Bonelli was the candidacy of Ilaria Salis, who received a total of over 176 thousand preferences (over 125 thousand in the North-West alone). But even more so – thanks to the presentation of his name in four out of five constituencies – that of the former mayor of Riace Mimmo Lucano, who broke through with 190 thousand preferences. The flop of the 5 Star Movement, however, is easily explained by the absence of major vote bearers throughout the country: the only exception is the former INPS president Pasquale Tridico, elected in the South with little more of 117 thousand votes. Behind Giuseppe Conte, in short, no one or almost no one to bring water to the mill in sufficient quantity. A very similar discussion to what could be done for Carlo Calenda’s Azione, which stopped at a disappointing 3.3%, and ultimately also for the United States of Europe list (3.76%), in which Matteo Renzi conquers alone almost 178 thousand preferences, but it leaves a void – or almost – behind it. So that no one from the former Third Pole will enter the next European Parliament.
