«It is a positive balance, the gap between the Lega and FdI is decreasing. The ballot needs to be changed but with broad consensus»- Corriere.it

With the same number of cities that have already elected the mayor, we now have one more (Latina, as well as Sondrio, Treviso and Imperia). The balance, at the moment, is positive. The group leader in the Chamber of the League Riccardo Molinari sees a glass half full in the results of the administrative.

But there are also cities, such as Brescia and Ancona, where you have attempted the shoulder. In the first not really successful.

We played all our cards (the electoral campaign was closed by Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini, ed) and fielded one of our best men, Fabio Rolfi. But we knew that Brescia was a historical stronghold of the left-wing DC and its heirs.

Not even bringing Meloni helped you.

Our victory would have been extraordinary. We gave it our all with a real candidate.

In Ancona, however, there is still a ballot to attempt the enterprise.

But that is a city in the hands of the left for thirty years… Anyway, we’re going into the second round with the advantage. You can be confident.

Before the vote, the ratio between centre-right and centre-left was 8-5. How will it end?

I don’t want to give numbers. For now, I repeat, I register an improvement.

And yet, some say that there has been a setback for the centre-right.

I don’t think I saw any Schlein effect….

No political test, then?

The number of voters involved, 6 million, is limited. Indications could be drawn if there was a single trend. But here there are those who have won and those who have lost.

In other words?

I don’t see a government in crisis, much less a rampant left.

How does the League come out of the polls instead?

Let’s say that it consolidates the results recorded at last September’s Policies. In many realities there has been a rebalancing with the Brothers of Italy. The gap narrowed.

In Veneto, the center-right risks losing Vicenza.

Well, in the meantime, “our” Mario Conte wins hands down in Treviso. Then, yes, in Vicenza we go to the ballot. Our opponents have fielded a good candidate, young and appreciated. The novelty effect paid off.

Now the balloting game is being played. Minister Calderoli wants to eliminate them.

There is one of our bills in the Senate which states that if a candidate exceeds the 40 percent threshold, he does not go to the ballot. But there is no agreement with the centre-left on this. For us, the theme is linked to the restoration of the Provinces and the direct election of presidents.

Do you also think that the second round will distort popular will?

That there may be a different outcome from the first is part of the game. But that in the second round someone wins with fewer votes than someone else in the first round is an objective distortion. And therefore, we confirm our willingness to review the electoral law of the Municipalities. But we would like to find a broader understanding in Parliament..

To change an ordinary law, your majority is enough.

For us, the priority is to broaden consensus. If we don’t succeed, we’ll go ahead alone.

In what times?

First we want to get the Provinces back on their feet with the direct election of the president. Then the rest will come.

Does the honeymoon of Italians with the government continue?

Certainly, even in the face of results that are not exciting, the climate remains good. Others seem worse off to me: the 5 Star Movement has disappeared almost everywhere.

The electoral rounds for this year are (almost) over. the Provincials in Trento and Bolzano remain in October, then you can concentrate on the European Championships in 2024.

That will be the real political test. We maintain a relationship of dialogue and loyal collaboration with our government allies. But we will focus on our strong points: from the Security decrees to Autonomy to the unblocking of construction sites. Five years ago this choice rewards us. We try again.

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