Adnkronos Rome, October 6 (Adnkronos) – After the cold shower in the Marche region last Monday, this time it's a freezing cold shower. The center-left in Calabria has suffered another defeat, one even more severe than a week ago: a loss of approximately 18 points, while the vote count is underway, between Roberto Occhiuto, a member of the Italian National Elections party, and his challenger Pasquale Tridico, a Five Star Movement MEP.
The Calabrian election was a "peculiar" one: the polls were called by Occhiuto after a notice of investigation, the coalition was hastily assembled, and a month of campaigning was spent.
These factors may have played a role in the clear victory for the center-right, with turnout declining both in the Marche and Calabria regions. In the first two regions to vote in the autumn election, the center-left was trailing and failed to broaden turnout. Conte says: "This saddens us and pushes us to question ourselves and do even more to demonstrate that no, we are not 'all the same' in our understanding of politics." Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni offer a harsh analysis: abstentionism "seems to be significantly impacting" the center-left. "A change of pace" within the coalition is urgently needed, they urge.
Speaking for the Democratic Party, Igor Taruffi, head of Organization for Elly Schlein's secretariat, reiterates the Democratic Party's stance. First, the path remains that of a "broad alliance." Second, "The final reckoning for this election will be done at the end." Next Monday, the center-left expects to celebrate Eugenio Giani's re-election in Tuscany. But Democratic reformists warn against "complacency" with possible victories in Tuscany, Puglia, and Campania. "Keeping our own isn't enough," observes a prominent figure in the reformist camp. We need to reach out to those who no longer vote. "We need to work on the Democratic Party's profile to make it truly pluralistic and capable of capturing the votes of those who currently abstain. Because a growing Democratic Party is the foundation of any alternative." And this will be part of the reckoning the Democratic Party will do at the end of the election.
Conte thanks Tridico, to whom "our most sincere thanks go for the commitment and generosity with which he conducted this election campaign, which came to a head in the middle of summer, in a contest we knew would be difficult and uphill against the outgoing President, who was also running for re-election in a snap election." This "dedication and commitment" were not in vain, for Conte, "because Pasquale has managed to build a new political path in a very short time, with programs and proposals that will allow us to secure strong and clear positions from the opposition and pave the way for a future of hope, to work for the Calabria of the future."
Regarding the election results, while the results are still coming in, the Movement has announced that the percentage of the 5 Star Movement plus the Tridico list, the M5S candidate, "reaches 14%." This is holding up compared to last year's European election results. Taruffi focuses on the Democratic Party's results, "which ran with two lists, the Democratic Party and the Democrats and Progressives. The result of the two lists is around 20%, up from the last regional elections. Although obviously, in the face of defeat, this figure isn't enough. Just as it's not enough for the center-left to have gone from 27% in the last regional elections to 41% today."
Therefore, the Democratic Party representative emphasizes, "we remain firmly committed to consolidating the center-left alliance, confident that victories will come in the coming elections. Center-left unity is and remains an essential condition for winning and governing." And the balance will be drawn at the end, including in terms of total votes. "Marche and Calabria are two important regions, with a combined population of approximately 3 million. In the coming weeks, regions like Tuscany and Puglia, with over 4 million inhabitants each, will be voting. Or Campania, with 6 million inhabitants, the second most populous region in Italy and the largest in Southern Italy. Only after November 23 will we be able to make a more complete political assessment and assessment."
Some, however, are already making an initial assessment. It comes from a prominent member of the Olive Tree party, and it's not at all positive. "Democracy is democracy only if there's a concrete alternative that allows citizens to choose. Marche and Calabria say there isn't one at the moment," Arturo Parisi wrote on social media.
From another side, Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni also sounded a wake-up call to their allies. "In Calabria, the progressive camp's defeat is clear," the AVS leaders stated. Bonelli and Fratoianni then emphasized the "increasingly dramatic abstention rate," which "signals a crisis that appears to be more severely impacting our political proposal."
And so it becomes "clear that the unity of the coalition, to which we have contributed with loyalty and commitment, is a necessary but not sufficient condition. The impression that the progressive camp is the product of improvisation and necessity rather than the expression of a clear vision of the country continues to weigh on the effectiveness of our proposal. We must therefore persist, but a change of pace is needed that can no longer be postponed."