Meloni doubles and a will. After the Marche region, the League gets the green light in Veneto in exchange for Lombardy.

I came, I saw, I conquered. Convinced that every regional election has its own setbacks, Giorgia Meloni is proceeding slowly. Meanwhile, she's aiming to secure a 2-0 victory. That is, to secure the Marche with her "brother" Francesco Acquaroli on Monday, and then secure Calabria the following week with Roberto Occhiuto. The first challenge is the most intense for the prime minister: it risks being the only outpost in this round where she can hoist the Flame. The polls, though volatile by definition, reassure her. In the Marche, Julius Caesar's maxim could come true for Meloni: the leader in this region has run twice (a small record), and there are those who say she might run again on Monday if she wins Ancona. This morning, she is expected to attend the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit, organized by Minister Daniela Santanchè. The possibility of a blitz, however complicated, is circulating in Parliament, but the odds are, perhaps out of superstition, low. On Tuesday, if Acquaroli succeeds himself, the prime minister, with the smile of her better days, will be in Calabria, in Lamezia Terme, for the rally of the center-right leaders for Occhiuto. After five days, the final say will be at the polls: Meloni is close to a double win.

This is the best way to unlock Veneto , the catchphrase of catchphrases that has enthralled fans of the genre. Who will be the new gubernatorial candidate after Luca Zaia? Will it be the League again, or will it be the Brothers of Italy's turn, in a version of "welcome to the Northeast"? If there are no surprises, in an act of political generosity, Meloni is ready to confirm the region for the Northern League, or rather, for the League. Provided that the official statement reiterates that this choice is part of an upcoming rebalancing of center-right parties in the northern regions. In short, the leader would like to put it in writing—in a sort of political testament—that Lombardy will end up in the hands of the Brothers of Italy. The idea is to use a vague formula without mentioning the word "Lombardy ," but leaving it implied, to prevent Matteo Salvini, having cashed in on Veneto, from immediately having to quell another revolt, this time among the Lombards. This ploy has been circulating for a few days, but it was decided to postpone everything until after the regional elections, and especially until after Pontida. The idea of ​​a swap, though widely discussed throughout the Transatlantic, would have disrupted the League's celebrations and thus Salvini's key event. Do you understand why Meloni is proceeding in small steps? So small, yet essential, that in the end she will also have to choose the gubernatorial candidates in Campania and Puglia, challenges that have been given up for lost (or very uphill) and over which a cloud of mystery still looms, with names plastered across the papers for the space of a morning and no politician willing to ultimately sacrifice himself. The green light for the League in Veneto (with Alberto Stefani) will also bring with it the last two pieces of the missing puzzle.

In the background , with Meloni likely to secure only the reappointment of a stronghold she already held, the escalating derby between the League and Forza Italia for the silver medal is looming. The Marche region offers the first taste of this derby. Five years ago, Salvini's party took 22.4 percent, first in the coalition, while Berlusconi's party reached 5.9 percent. Two years later, in the general election, again in the Marche, the Northern League plummeted to 7.9 percent in the Chamber of Deputies, closely followed by the Forza Italia party at 6.8 percent. This lead of about one point was also confirmed in the latest European elections, with the League at 8.19 percent and Forza Italia at 7 percent. In these hours, Antonio Tajani's men are dreaming of a coup. That is, overtaking them. The Forza Italia coordinator in this region is MP Francesco Battistoni, the Foreign Minister's right-hand man, with very clear ideas about the result they want to achieve. But the important thing for everyone, starting with Meloni, is that the 2-0 result materialises in these two weeks. The rest is (almost) just a matter of details.

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