ROME, Oct 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Italians head to the polls in Umbria Sunday
for a regional election heralded as a key test for both the young left-
leaning government and a zealous new right-wing opposition alliance.
Firebrand Matteo Salvini is determined to wrest the hilly region prized for
its truffles and prosciutto from the left, which has governed it for 70
years, by capitalising on a health scandal and biting economic crisis.
“Never before has Umbria, with its 884,000 inhabitants, been such an
important thermometer for national politics,” the Sole 24 Ore daily said in
the run-up to the vote.
Salvini collapsed Italy’s previous populist government two months ago in a
failed bid to spark a parliamentary election the then-deputy prime minister
hoped to win.
He was thwarted by an unexpected tie-up between former foes, the anti-
establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and centre-left Democratic Party (PD),
which joined forces to stop him.
Salvini has since channelled all his energies into a return to power,
allying his anti-immigrant League with the smaller, far-right Brothers of
Italy, and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza
Italia.
The M5S and PD believe running together locally is the only way to stop the
right from taking not only Umbria but also key regions such as the left-wing
heartland of Emilia-Romagna, which votes early next year.
“If the first experiment of the PD-M5S alliance ends with a League
triumph… someone at Palazzo Chigi (the prime minister’s office) should ask
themselves why,” Salvini said at a campaign rally this week.
Should the right win, the 46-year old could “attempt the ascent to Palazzo
Chigi, winning one region after another”, the Sole 24 Ore said.
“A defeat, however, would sting: it would mean he had made the wrong moves
from August 8 (when he toppled the government) onwards.”
– Marching ‘as one’ –
The latest polls put the right’s candidate, Donatella Tesei, ahead with
between 48 and 52 percent, compared to between 41 and 45 percent for PD-M5S
candidate Vincenzo Bianconi.
“Many consider Umbria to be as fundamental as Ohio is for the US
presidential elections: here we’ll see what kind of future the ‘Yellow and
Red’ government has,” the Corriere della Sera newspaper said, referring to
the M5S and PD colours.
But while the right “marches as one”, the government coalition “bickers,
every day, about everything… which makes electoral campaigning difficult”,
it said.
Salvini hopes to tap into disillusionment over an economic crisis worsened
by a series of earthquakes that struck central Italy in 2016, killing
hundreds of people and devastating towns and villages.
With over 90 percent of agricultural businesses in Umbria run by families,
the widespread loss of livestock and damage to crops of saffron and lentils
dealt a vicious blow, and recovery has been slow.
The region was already suffering from the economic crisis, which hit
historic companies like chocolate maker Perugina hard.
Umbria’s biggest factory, the Terni steelworks, has struggled for years and
periodically risks closure.
The left is also hampered at the ballot box by a health sector scandal:
Umbria governor and PD member Catiuscia Marini quit in April following a
probe into competitive exams for the hiring of hospital staff.
Political watchers have warned a serious defeat of the M5S could mean
curtains for its leader Luigi Di Maio, with potentially serious repercussions
for the fragile governing coalition.
It could also spell bad news for PD leader Nicola Zingaretti, who was
initially set against the M5S tie-up but has since staked his political
future on its success.
The left-wing Repubblica daily said Di Maio and Prime Minister Giuseppe
Conte were losing sleep over the vote — though the latter has laughed that
off, insisting “Umbria is not a test for the government.”
Italian pollster Renato Mannheimer agreed, saying Friday that “the real
test will be in Emilia-Romagna in January.”