In Bologna, there is a clear favorite for the local elections on 5 June. This is the outgoing mayor Virginio Merola of the Democratic Party (Pd), given to 49,8% from the latest survey carried out by Demos. The only question to ask seems to be whether Merola will be able to win from the first round or if she will have to resort to the ballot. It is probably in this key that Merola's surprising signature for the referendum promoted by the CGIL against the Jobs Act should be read, a signature that certainly won't win him the applause of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who will be in Bologna on Friday, but which has the clear objective to collect other votes left to solve the electoral match in the first round.
The probable challenger, in the event of a runoff, would be the Northern League Lucia Bergonzoni, also supported by Forza Italia and FdI, which, again according to Demos, collects 17,7% of the votes. Behind him the grillino candidate Massimo Bugani (16,5%), looking for a significant result in the city where, with the first VDay of 2007, the foundations were laid for the birth of the Movement.
Among the other candidates, the consensus for the exponent of the centrist right was significant Manes Bernardini (10,3%) and those for the Civic Coalition, to the left of the Democratic Party, which he supports Federico Martelloni (4,7%). The other four candidates are Matteo Badiali of the Greens, Ermanno Lorenzoni of the Communist Party of Workers, Sergio Celloni of Gol (Justice, honor and freedom) and Mirko De Carli of the Popolo family.
However, everything seems ready for the reconfirmation of 61-year-old Virginio Merola as mayor of the "Rossa". Merola is a long-time exponent of left-wing and centre-left parties, very active on a local basis, and became mayor in 2011 after the resignation of Flavio Delbono and after a year in receivership.
Apart from some evictions decided by the prefecture and the police station in the last period, his was a calm mandate, even if in Bologna the policies of the national Democratic Party do not seem to warm many hearts, as demonstrated by the very low turnout at the regional elections in 2014.
The challenger Lucia Borgonzoni, 39, is decidedly right on the Italian political spectrum, and promises to close social centers and clear houses occupied "by ticks", as well as hindering the arrival of irregular migrants.
The grillino Massimo Bugani, who was re-nominated, after the 9,5% obtained in 2011, without going through the "Comunarie", proposes himself as the "only alternative to the increasingly lobbying 'company' Pd" and, in his programme, aims on the green, on the stop to the irregulars and on the attack on the "poltronificio Hera".
The only uncertainty, as mentioned, seems to concern the possibility of a run-off. If so, they remain to be understood any alliances that could be formed. From Merola's decision to look to the left (Martelloni) or to the right (Bernardini), the extent of a result could depend which, in terms of merits, the victory of the outgoing mayor, seems obvious.
