The electoral round that has just been consigned to the archives takes on a symbolic value that goes beyond the size of the electorate. The successes achieved by the centre-right in Reggio Calabria and Crotone, the two provincial capitals that went to the polls, restore luster to a coalition that emerged battered two months ago from the referendum on justice.
On the other hand, the defeats suffered by the progressive coalition represent an indicative test of how much the large victory of the “no” to the Nordio reform was really “merit” of the left. A true center-left cannot ignore the construction of a coalition. To date there is only the Democratic Party and little else.
Meanwhile, the election of Francesco Cannizzaro as first citizen of Reggio Calabria is good news for Roberto Occhiuto, who will shortly make the names of the new regional councilors official. The relationship between the governor and the new mayor is destined to affect the balance of the Calabrian centre-right. Not only because it strengthens a clearly recognizable axis within FI but also because it keeps at bay any regional leadership ambitions that emerge on the banks of the Strait.
With the conquest of the most prestigious seat in Palazzo San Giorgio, Cannizzaro capitalizes on a work begun years ago, consolidated by the years spent between Montecitorio and the territory. The secretary of Forza Italia in Calabria will find himself collecting the legacy left by the long reign of the dem Giuseppe Falcomatà.
Vincenzo Voce, reconfirmed mayor of Crotone, supported in this round by the centre-right, will be called to complete the work started. Arriving at the Town Hall in the autumn of 2020 in the wake of the so-called “orange revolution”, Voce has progressively approached the Occhiuto area and that of the regional councilor Sergio Ferrari. The Dems and their allies remain far from success even in the former red stronghold of Calabria.
A little further north, in San Giovanni in Fiore, the ballot will decide Rosaria Succurro’s successor. The latter’s husband, Marco Ambrogio, a former child prodigy of the Democratic Party who has now moved to the blue court, will have to sweat to conquer the tricolor sash. Ditto for the melonian Anna De Gaio in Castrovillari. At the foot of Pollino the wide field has the possibility of placing a flag. The only one among many from the center-right.