Salvini-Backed Candidate Leads in Leftist Stronghold Ahead of Election

Head of the League party Matteo Salvini attends a rally of his party united with the Broth
ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

A poll taken ahead of the regional election in the leftist stronghold of Apulia has revealed that the right-wing candidate backed by Matteo Salvini has a slight lead in the race.

The Ipsos poll shows right-wing coalition candidate Raffaele Fitto, a member of the national-conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) and current Member of European Parliament (MEP), leading incumbent Apulia leftist president Michele Emiliano by 41 per cent to 39.4 per cent.

Apulia has been a leftist stronghold for the past 15 years, with the last right-wing victory in the region coming in 2000 when Fitto was elected president of Apulia while a member of Forza Italia, the party of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

According to a report from the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, the loss of Apulia could be a major blow to the leftist Democratic Party (PD). It could lead to an earthquake within the party, which forms one half of the current ruling national coalition government alongside the Five Star Movement (M5S).

M5S is also fielding a candidate in the election, but has only managed to secure 15.6 per cent in the poll — but Ipsos also found that at least half of the M5S voters had positive things to say about the PD government under Emiliano.

Apulia is not the only region that will see elections later this month, with Italians voting in Aosta Valley, Campania, Liguria, Marche, Tuscany, and Veneto.

Of the seven regions, at least six currently see right-wing coalition candidates in the lead with only the PD candidate in Campania holding a leader over the FdI challenger Stefano Caldoro.

In the region of Liguria, the right-wing incumbent Giovanni Toti sits at 60.1 per cent in polling compared to the centre-left candidate Ferruccio Sansa at just 34.4 per cent.

In Veneto, the lead for the centre-right candidate is even higher with incumbent Luca Zaia polling at 76.8 per cent. A member of Senator Matteo Salvini’s League, Zaia has been hailed as a “rising star” due to his management of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

A sweeping victory in the regional elections for the centre-right would come as mass migration has begun to surge once again in Italy with migrant transport NGO activity steadily increasing in the Mediterranean.

Last month, Matteo Salvini threatened to take the government to court over the issue, claiming the leftist coalition may be aiding illegal migration.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.