Regional in Italy: the far right does not obtain the expected victory in Tuscany

The leader of the far-right Italian League party, Matteo Salvini, set to address the media on the results of the regional elections, in Milan, September 21, 2020. REUTERS / Alessandro Garofalo

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

Polling stations are closed in Tuscany, Italy, where regional elections were held.

The left claims victory.

The far right failed to conquer Tuscany, a left stronghold, which it hoped to make a triumphant symbol of its national ambitions.

Six regions in total elected new presidents.

Publicity

Read more

The left-wing candidate in this region of central-western Italy, Eugenio Giani, is credited with around 47% of the vote, against some 40% to Susanna Ceccardi, the candidate of the League, the far-right party by Matteo Salvini, according to projections published by Italian televisions.

“ 

 ,” Eugenio Giani told his electoral committee.

admitted defeat and sent a text message to his rival asking him to " 

 ".

In addition, in the national referendum on the reduction in the number of parliamentarians organized at the same time as these regional ones, the "yes" won with around 69% of the votes, according to a count relating to the ballots counted in nearly 95% of the votes. polling stations.

With a relatively high turnout of 54% in this unsuspecting referendum, voters mobilized well from Sunday morning to early Monday afternoon by following strict security protocols, in this country where the coronavirus, including the prevalence has been rising for seven weeks, has killed more than 35,600.

The left resists in Tuscany

Six regions - four on the left (Tuscany, Puglia, Campania and Marche), two on the right (Liguria and Veneto) - were to elect new presidents.

The left managed to keep three regions (Tuscany, Puglia and Campania), but the center-right-extreme-right united front kept its own and stole the Marches (south) from the parties in the government of Giuseppe Conte, a coalition formed a year ago between the 5 Star Movement (M5S) and the Democratic Party (PD, center left).

The right will now lead 14 Italian regions and the left five.

The victory of the “yes” in the national referendum on the reduction in the number of parliamentarians, the electoral promise of the M5S, will not fail to strengthen the latter.

The number of parliamentarians will increase from 945 to 600. Today, Italy has the second most numerous Parliament in Europe, behind that of the United Kingdom (around 1,400), and ahead of France (925).

(With

AFP

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• Italy

• Matteo salvini

On the same subject

European accents

In Italy, test elections for the far right

Regional in Italy: a test election for the League of Matteo Salvini