Election in Umbria: a warning for Rome?
The centre-right camp led by the far-right Lega party won a clear victory in regional elections in Umbria in central Italy. Its candidate, Donatella Tesei, garnered 58 percent of the vote, giving her a substantial lead against the candidates of the centre-left. Does this success signal a return to power for Lega boss Matteo Salvini?
New coalition didn't persuade the people
Clearly voters are not convinced by the new governing coalition in Rome, Huffington Post Italia concludes:
“In the first elections since the August crisis and the formation of the new government, voters didn't stay at home but instead voted for the political opponent whose 'dangerousness' glued together the current government, but who is still regarded by the people as a vector of change. ... The citizens' pact hasn't worked, nor has the government wall temporarily erected in Rome. Umbria conveys the image of a [national] government that is not wanted by the people. Not a 'new beginning' but rather a new chapter in a 'slow death', incapable of stopping the sovereigntist wave that is sweeping through the country.”
The Five Stars have been extinguished
Corriere della Sera believes it was more the Five Star Movement and less the coalition in Rome as a whole that voters punished in these elections:
“Matteo Salvini has taken control of the region that was in the hands of the left for almost half a century. ... [PD leader] Nicola Zingaretti's party has lost 'its' Umbria and lost votes compared to the European elections in May. But more significantly the Cinque Stelle, which just 18 months ago was seen as the vector of national change, has lost two-thirds of its votes compared with the 2018 parliamentary elections - a sign of an angry and volatile electorate.”