Meloni: “The result of the regional elections in Lazio and Lombardy strengthens the center-right and the government”

The center-right leaders are not even waiting for the first consolidated data to celebrate. In Lazio and Lombardy the exit polls announce a comfortable victory for Francesco Rocca And Attilio Fontana. And the government allies rejoice. “Congratulations to Rocca and Fontana for the clear victory in the 2023 regional elections, sure that they will do their best to honor the mandate received from the citizens of Lazio and Lombardy. A result that consolidates center-right compactness and strengthens the work of the government”, writes the Prime Minister on Twitter Giorgia Meloni.

The centre-right

“Vittoria. Thanks Lombardy. Thanks Lazio”, rejoices on Twitter, the leader of the League Matthew Salvini. “If the exit polls are true, it is a success of the center-right, very consistent in Lazio but also in Lombardy. It is a vote of confidence in the government”, he comments hotly on the Tg1 the Vice-President of FI and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani. It is, he continues, “a vote of confidence in the centre-right. Instead we need to work on another fact, the low turnout”. “If confirmed, it is a figure even higher than that of the political elections, achieved three months ago: an appreciation that is growing”, he declares Francesco Lollobrigida, minister and leading exponent of Giorgia Meloni’s party. “A large part of the abstention is attributable to the opposition. I am quite convinced that it is due to their lack of political proposals. They don’t talk about what they want to achieve, they only think of mud, and a clear signal has come from the centre-left electorate” .

For Lucio Malan, leader of Forza Italia in the Senate, “the decline has not damaged the center-right, as usually happened, which on the contrary improves and wins in two regions. The center-right earns 4 points in Lombardy and 8 in Lazio, compared to previous policies”. The group leader of FdI in the Chamber, Thomas Foti, glosses: “After the triumph of the policies, the left has also been swept away in Lazio and Lombardy, which now has no choice but to cry. The verdict sanctioned by the polls regional it was clear and leaves no room for any interpretation: the united centre-right wins hands down, but above all it convinces the voters”.

The Deputy Speaker of the House, Fabio Rampelli, underlines: “If the result were confirmed above 50%, it would be sensational”. And he adds: “We were right to nominate Francesco Rocca at the Lazio regional elections and I was right to support him: we have been friends for a lifetime”. The senator of Forza Italia, Maurice Gasparri, adds: “It seems to me that the trend at the moment is that the centre-right is consolidating the trend of the past months. In Lazio it would be important for the region to move from the left to the centre-right. An important trend which is consolidating”.

The UDC is also satisfied. ” Citizens reward the good governance of the centre-right: the team that wins does not change. The cohesion and unity of the coalition made the difference. The opposition is largely absent. On the other hand, the abstention rate cannot and it must not leave us indifferent: disaffection with politics is a defeat for everyone because it impoverishes democracy”, says the senator Anthony DePoli.

The centre-left

From the Pd the parent company in the Senate, Simon Malpezzi, comments bitterly on the first data: “Our ambition should be the majority vocation. Allies come only later. We must be attractive”. Even the third pole comes out dented. “The choice of the voters was clear and unequivocal: the right wins everywhere – he writes Charles Calenda on Twitter – The center and the left have never been in a match, not even united, not even in the hypothetical wide field format. Letizia Moratti it was courageous and spent a lot, but outside…”. Then the leader of Azione reflects: “The center and the left have never been in the game, not even united, not even in the hypothetical wide field format. Letizia Moratti was courageous and she spent a lot of effort, but outside the pool of votes from the Third Pole we were unable to attract support”. And, Calenda points out, “the same thing happened to Alessio D’Amato, to whom all our thanks go, with respect to the pool of PD-Terzo Polo votes. As far as our list is concerned, the results were particularly penalized by the bipolar mechanism of the regional elections and by the lower presence of opinion votes. The construction of a single party of the reformist, liberal and popular center becomes even more urgent”.

AND Hector Rosatoof Italia viva, underlines: “When participation is very low, a mobilization vote prevails, of which we are not beneficiaries. Ours is above all a vote of opinion”.

The dem mayor of Pesaro does not hide his disappointment with the results, Matthew Ricci. “The defeat in Lazio and Lombardy is bad. The turnout, which affects us above all, is bad. The divided and uncompetitive opposition is bad. Rebuilding will be hard work but we will rise again. Let’s start again from those who have the popular strength for real change. On February 26th with Stefano Bonaccini“.