Italian Emilia-Romagna, with Bologna as its capital, has been a classic left-wing since the Second World War. Back in the 1990s, the Communist Party PCI had about half of the mandate in the regional parliament, often with its own majority.

However, Sunday's election seems to be a shudder. Opinion polls indicate around 45 percent support for the left-middle coalition under Regional President Stefano Bonaccini, as well as for the right-wing coalition under Lucia Borgonzoni.

Long after, the populist ruling party follows the Five Star Movement, with only a few percentage points.

knocking on doors

Borgonzoni belongs to the right-wing populist Lega and has been strongly supported in the campaign by party leader Matteo Salvini.

But maybe it got a little too much when Salvini knocked on Tuesday in Bologna in the more spectacular way. A promotional video shows how Salvini and his companion call on an immigrant family and ask to come in.

- Is it true that you sell drugs here in the area? asks the former interior minister - and the family quickly hangs up the door phone.

Angry President

The action has received rapid criticism, not least from Tunisia - the designated family homeland.

- Salvini's racist behavior is disgraceful and undermines relations between Italy and Tunisia, the Tunisian parliament's deputy spokesman Osama Sghaiis said on Italian radio.

Although Salvini shrugs his shoulders the most.

“It was right for me to call. I do not regret it at all. I don't care if the drug dealers are Italian or Tunisian. Whoever chooses Lega chooses the fight against the drug, ”he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

Does the government fall?

Even if Sunday's election is only regional, it can have major consequences.

The government cooperation in Rome between the left-middle party PD and the Five Star Movement is cracking. An opposition victory in Emilia-Romagna could be the drop for the coalition.

- The political situation is very unstable and can explode at any time. The more regional elections they lose, the worse the situation becomes when it becomes increasingly clear that the country is against the government, says political scientist Giovanni Orsina at the University of Rome in Rome to the news agency Reuters.