It was supposed to be a secondary electoral round, one of those which, given the absence of large centres, could pass into "cavalry" by virtue of far more important political appointments. Instead, the ballots of the local elections on Sunday 24 June turned into yet another electoral contest with no holds barred between the main parties in power.
With the birth of the new Lega - M5S government and the numerous dossiers on the table of the new executive led by Premier Giuseppe Conte, the second round of the 2018 municipal elections has become a useful test bench for testing the mood of the electorate in a political context full of upheavals . At the same time, however, the center-left is also playing a lot, trying to resist a downward trend that seems difficult to stop.
Voting will take place in 75 municipalities with over 15 inhabitants and in 14 provincial capitals. The main purpose of the 5 Star Movement, but also of the center-left, will be to stem the rise of the center-right which, after the first round of last June 10, aims to make the en plein driven by the Lega's exploits.
BALLOT 24 JUNE: KEY MUNICIPALITIES
Attention is focused on the now former red Tuscany where there are "at stake". Pisa, Siena and Massa. It is precisely here that the Democratic Party will play all out trying not to lose three symbolic cities after having sold 9 of the 16 municipalities in which it governed. In the shadow of the leaning tower, the Northern League came close to 25% in the first round, bringing the centre-right candidate, Michele Conti, to 33,36%. Andrea Serfogli, Pd and civic candidate (32,25% in the first round) will try to make a comeback, also counting on the alliance with two civic lists. In this case, the votes that went to the pentastellato Gabriele Amore (10%) on June 9,90 could be decisive, who, even without having made a real endorsement, made it clear that he "prefers alternative political forces to the Democratic Party".
In the challenge between the centre-right and the centre-left, the case of the Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo, a historic red stronghold that could change hands after decades of absolute domination by the left. Sunday 24 June the challenge to the last vote will be between the outgoing centre-left mayor, Siria Trezzi (41,04% on 10 June) and the centre-right candidate Giacomo Ghilardi (45,94%).
But if the two "traditional" factions are contending for many key territories, the 5 Star Movement is also called to play it all. After the 32,7% achieved on 4 March, the first round clearly disappointed expectations. Two weeks ago the pentastellati failed to win in any of the cities called to vote, also losing the III and VIII municipalities of Rome. 7 ballots reached, of which only three in the capital cities: Tarnished, where he will face the center-right, Avellino, city of Luigi Di Maio, e ragusa, former grillino feud. To these are added Assemini (Cagliari), Acireale (Catania), Pomezia (Rome) and Imola (Bologna).
It will be in these territories that the M5S will try to limit the damage, increasing the number of cities governed to date (44). The hope is to be able to confirm the trend of 2017, when 8 out of 10 municipalities managed to win the ballot.
Finally, the case of Imperia where an interesting clash between Claudio Scajola, ex Forza Italia, who presented himself with a civic list and will challenge the candidate of the united center-right, the architect Luca Lanteri, his former heirloom, is expected.
BALLOT 24 JUNE: WHEN AND WHERE TO VOTE
There are 2 million and 793 thousand citizens called to vote for the ballot of these administrative elections. Voting will take place in a single day and the polls will remain open from 7.00 to 23.00. Counting will begin immediately after the polls close.
75 municipalities with more than 15 inhabitants, including 14 provincial capitals. In 29 out of 75 cities the centre-right is ahead, in 20 the centre-left. Taking into consideration only the provincial capitals, the centre-right reaches 9 (Sondrio, Teramo, Terni, Pisa, Viterbo, Brindisi, Siracusa, Messina), the centre-left reaches 4 (Ancona, Massa, Siena and Avellino), the M5 stops at one (Ragusa). .
Six provincial capitals have already been assigned: two in the centre-left (Brescia with Emilio Del Bono and Trapani with Giacolo Tranchidia who swept away with 6%), four in the centre-right: Catania, Barletta, Vicenza and Treviso.
