The regional election in Emilia-Romagna in Italy, Sunday, was to be for Matteo Salvini, the former Minister of the Interior, the launching pad to allow the League, the far-right party to regain power. But despite a drumming campaign by "the Captain", the name given by his supporters, the League party was beaten by the left.
The outgoing president of the region, Stefano Bonaccini (Democratic Party, center left), was in the lead with a score of around 50% according to the partial results against 43% for his opponent Lucia Borgonzoni of the League. The election was marked by a very high turnout of 67%, against 37% in previous regional meetings in 2014.
It must be said that the candidate of the League, Lucia Borgonzoni, was completely overshadowed by Matteo Salvini during the campaign which organized daily meetings and flooded the social media with photos of him eating Parma ham or Parmesan , two internationally known regional specialties.
In the opposing camp, the outgoing region president and center-left candidate opposed his good management and the economic results of the region, which has an unemployment rate of 5.9% (against 9.7% nationally) and growth of 2.2% in 2018.
In addition, the left also benefited from the anti-Salvinian dynamic created by the Sardines, a youth movement born in the region two months ago and quickly became a national symbol of the protest against the extreme right.
"Something will change in Rome"
The fact remains that for Matteo Salvini the stakes were high. He had warned that if he won, he would immediately demand early legislative elections on Monday. Sunday, half-acknowledging his defeat, he explained that "after 70 years, there has been a real match in Emilia-Romagna. In the past, the match was over before it started. And to add: "Something will change in Rome. "
The only source of satisfaction for Salvini is the victory of his candidate during the other regional elections in Calabria. However, according to observers in Italy, this defeat of Salvini in Emilia-Romagna could mark for the boss of the Italian far right "the beginning of a long crossing of the desert in opposition. "
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Still, national polls still place the League at the top of the voting intentions around 30% to make it the first party in Italy.