The strange case of Altamura, where Pd and Lega won together

Vitantonio Petronella he became the new mayor of Altamura thanks to an 18-vote difference. And one here might say: what’s the story? Small victories can be seen everywhere, at all latitudes. And in fact, if the election of Petronella has become a story, it is not due to the narrow margin that led him to become the first citizen of the second largest municipality in Puglia by number of inhabitants called to the elections in this administrative round. Because curiosity resides elsewhere.

Do you know the wide field that Elly Schlein spoke about yesterday too, insisting on the need to build an alliance as varied as possible to beat the right? Well, in Altamura they went beyond all expectations. Because in setting up the coalition, the Democratic Party found itself sharing support for the new mayor together with the League.

However, the stratagem, in the decomposition of the original coalitions, envisaged that the two parties presented themselves without the original party symbols, but with lists close to each other. So from the Popolari to the UDC to the dem exponents (up to the Northern League), they found themselves on the same side of the fence. While on the other hand Giovanni Moramarco was supported, among others, by Forza Italia and Fratelli d’Italia, the veterans of the coalition in government of the country that did so well in these ballots.

Yet the Lega’s support for Petronella was dictated more by personal issues than by long-term reasoning of a programmatic-political nature, because the Carroccio contact person in the area immediately spent his time on him, namely the former undersecretary of the Instruction Rossano Sasso. That of Petronella, who was a head teacher, is a close acquaintance. And he immediately said it to her: we will win. And whether it’s with Elly and without Giorgia and Silvio, it doesn’t matter.