European preferences reward Meloni, PD local administrators and Vannacci

Brussels – In the aftermath of the call to the polls for the European elections, the names of those elected to the Strasbourg Parliament begin to emerge. The vote in Italy marked the affirmation of Fratelli d’Italia electing 24 MEPs; the second force in the country is the Democratic Party, which will be able to count on 21 members in the EU Parliament. Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was running for her party as the leading candidate, filled up with preferences: over 2.3 million among all five constituencies. From north to south, the PD’s good result was accompanied by endorsements toward mayors: excellent results for Giorgio Gori, Dario Nardella, Matteo Ricci, and Antonio Decaro. In the Lega, Roberto Vannacci swept the board, and there was a boom of votes for Ilaria Salis among the Greens and the Left.

Leader effect for Fratelli d’Italia

Giorgia Meloni had bet on her candidacy as the leading candidate in the five constituencies, and the result of the vote rewarded her. The premier won more than 2.3 million preferences, getting more than Matteo Salvini took in 2019, with the Lega at 34 per cent. Second, some 92,000 voters chose Alberico Gambino, former mayor of Pagani (Sa) and a loyalist of Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Edmondo Cirielli. ECR group co-chairman Nicola Procaccini and outgoing Fratelli d’Italia delegation head Carlo Fidanza are confirmed for another term. Entering Strasbourg for the first time are Elena Donazzan, councillor for education and labour in the Veneto region, at the centre of attention for his discriminatory statements and Lara Magoni, a former ski champion and current undersecretary with responsibility for sports in the Lombardy region.

The Democratic Party relies on local administrators

In her first election as secretary of the PD, Elly Schlein, unlike Giorgia Meloni, chose to run as a leading candidate only in the Central Italy constituency, where she got more than 122,000 votes, and in the Islands, 84,769 preferences. The choice to present to voters their local administrators in the constituencies where they have governed worked: more than 495,000 votes for Antonio Decaro, mayor of Bari, nearly 100,000 for Dario Nardella, mayor of Florence, just under 85.000 for Matteo Ricci, mayor of Pesaro, 82,000 for Nicola Zingaretti former president of the Lazio region, 389,000 for Stefano Bonaccini, president of Emilia Romagna, and 210,000 for Giorgio Gori, mayor of Bergamo. The Democratic Party also brings to Strasbourg journalist Lucia Annunziata, who gets 241,000 preferences, and Cecilia Strada, elected with 283,000 votes in the Northwest. In the same constituency, Brando Benifei, head of the party’s delegation, and Irene Tinagli were reappointed for another term. Among the excellent exclusions was former Avvenire editor Marco Tarquinio, who came only seventh in the preferences of central Italian Pd voters.

The Democratic Party also confirms its positive result among those living abroad, being the most voted list. In Belgium, for example, the Italian community’s support for the PD turned out to be more than 33 per cent, double the votes of Fratelli d’Italia, which stopped at 16 per cent.

Map the Democratic Party vote from our interactive map for @SkyTG24.

The Decaro effect brings Bari to the top of the list of Italy’s most pro-PD provinces (45.7 percent), ahead of even traditional strongholds such as Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Florence.#European elections pic.twitter.com/HyfPJjrl6B

– Lorenzo Pregliasco (@lorepregliasco) June 10, 2024

The 5-Star Movement pays for the absence of weighty names on its lists

The disappointing result of the Five Star Movement, which did not exceed 10 per cent, is reflected in the poor preferences obtained by its candidates. The top vote-getter with just under 118,000 votes was former INPS president Pasquale Tridico. Despite only 15,000 preferences, Sabrina Pignedoli gets a second term in Strasbourg, as does Mario Furore, elected in the southern constituency. Entering the EU Parliament for the first time are former soccer player and coach Carolina Morace and Giuseppe Antoci, to whom President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella conferred in 2016 the title of Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for “his courageous determination in the defense of legality and the fight against mafia phenomena.”

Forza Italia in the name of Tajani and the memory of Berlusconi

The overtaking done to the detriment of the Lega and the small distance from the 10 per cent and the Five Star Movement rewarded the choices of leader Antonio Tajani in the first elections since the passing of Forza Italia leader and founder Silvio Berlusconi. The “Azzurri” managed to elect seven MEPs plus Herbert Dorfmann, an exponent of the Südtiroler Volkspartei but supported by FI. Thanks to her 41,000 preferences, Letizia Moratti got a seat in Strasbourg, while outgoing MEPs Massimiliano Salini, Salvatore De Meo, and Fulvio Martusciello were reappointed.

In Sicily, Forza Italia is the leading party with over 23 per cent of the vote. In the island constituency that includes Sardinia, FI managed to elect two Sicilian aldermen: Marco Falcone and Edmondo Tamajo. With more than 121 thousand preferences, the latter is the most-voted member among the “Azzurri”. Despite the 93 thousand votes obtained in the islands, outgoing MEP Caterina Chinnici remains out. Antonio Tajani ran in all constituencies except the island one, getting almost 400 thousand votes. However, It is unknown how many voters went to the polling station voting for Forza Italia and writing the name of the late Silvio Berlusconi, as the party had called for.

Vannacci drags the Carroccio

Matteo Salvini’s move to present the controversial Roberto Vannacci in the elections bore fruit: a plebiscite of support. The general, who was running all over Italy, garnered more than 536,000 votes, becoming the League’s top vote-getter in all constituencies except the islands, where he came in behind MEP and former Fratelli d’Italia member Raffaele Stancanelli.

In the Northwest, the Lega succeeds in confirming Silvia Sardone and Isabella Tovaglieri, who get 75,000 and 40,000 preferences, respectively. Elected in the northeast is the mayor of Monfalcone, Anna Maria Cisint, author of racist statements toward the Muslim community. Finally, one of these four exponents will remain without a seat due to the disappointing result: Angelo Ciocca, Paolo Borchia, Susanna Ceccardi and Aldo Patriciello.

Right now the Lega is leading in only one province, Isernia. This result is largely due to the contribution of Aldo Patriciello, who has already garnered more than 3,000 preferences (more than one out of every two votes for the Lega).#European elections #maratonaYouTrend

— YouTrend (@you_trend) pic.twitter.com/bbsKJ9L8h2

Ilaria Salis and Mimmo Lucano, the winning choices of Bonelli and Fratoianni

Green and Italian Left Alliance put forward strong candidacies that won voters’ support. Ilaria Salis was elected with more than 126 thousand votes in the Northwest. A good result also came for Mimmo Lucano, who got 76 thousand preferences in the south, and Ignazio Marino, former mayor of Rome, nearly 30,000 in the centre. The data regarding young people is significant: Left and Green Alliance is the second most voted party after the PPD among those under 30 and the first in the out-of-state vote.

In the student vote June 10, 2024 Green Left Alliance triumphs, surpassing 40 percent. It is followed by the PD (25.5 percent) and in third place Action (10.2 percent).#fuorisede #maratonaYouTrend

— YouTrend (@you_trend) pic.twitter.com/M7PESP1Iz8