Regional elections, the center-right is at sea. The friction blocking the agreement is over Veneto. The League wants it back at all costs, but the Brothers of Italy isn't giving up. Inside
The only certainties within the center-right are the re-candidates for regional president Francesco Acquaroli in the Marche region and Roberto Occhiuto in Calabria. Otherwise, chaos reigns supreme in this controversial end of August within the governing majority over Matteo Salvini's attacks on French President Emmanuel Macron, which have sparked a reaction from the Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the leader of the League, Antonio Tajani.
If in Puglia the Azzurri have no desire to nominate Mauro D'Attis , given the practically certain victory of Antonio Decaro , former mayor of Bari and MEP of the Democratic Party, and in Campania and Tuscany the discussions are still ongoing (even in these cases the defeat of the Centre-Right is highly probable), the real game is Veneto.
For the Northern League, which has decided to abandon the Zaia List and place the outgoing Governor as the League's top candidate in an attempt to overtake the Brothers of Italy party, the region is the "Piave line," and the ideal candidate already exists: Alberto Stefani, regional secretary of the ("glorious") Liga Veneta and federal vice-secretary of the Northern League.
But the Prime Minister's party isn't giving up. The Forza Italia candidacy of former Verona mayor Flavio Tosi is merely wishful thinking and will never come to fruition; the real tug-of-war is between Salvini and the prime minister. On the one hand, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure cannot abandon the region, a key region for the League, a historic one, where federalism was born and where almost ten years ago (practically a geological era) the people of Veneto loudly demanded autonomy through a legitimate popular referendum.
On the other hand, Meloni has her own supporters pushing for the leadership of a large northern region and don't want to wait for the Lombardy elections, strengthened by the fact that Meloni's supporters in Veneto achieved the best results in Italy in both the general election and the 2024 European elections (over 34% of the vote). Brothers of Italy already has the names for Governor: either Luca De Carlo , regional secretary, or Raffaele Speranzon , deputy group leader in the Senate. The contest is complete and wide open, and according to qualified center-right sources, a solution won't be found before September.
Between the 5th and 10th of next month, after the summer holidays, a summit will be held between the majority leaders that should resolve the situation. The point is that if the League (or rather, Liga Veneta) doesn't have a candidate, it could decide to run alone, causing a dramatic split within the party and the coalition. This could risk causing the center-right to lose and handing the center-left an unexpected victory in Veneto, where Giovanni Manildo of Treviso has been running for a few weeks.
Government sources assure that " there will be no rift and that a compromise will be reached, " but the conflict is there. Salvini cannot and will not give up, but Meloni is being pressured by her own people to appoint a Northern regional president. Any quid pro quo? Yes, in the Budget Law . If the League wins, it's obvious there won't be any further tax relief in next year's budget. Or at least, if there is, it will be limited. Priority will be given to tax cuts for the middle class, as repeatedly mentioned by Forza Italia and Deputy Minister of Economy Maurizio Leo.
Affari Italiani
