The lessons of Basilicata
News, surprises and scenarios on the elections in Basilicata. Guiglia's notebook
It was the last electoral challenge before the European elections arriving on 8 June. Even in Basilicata the wind continues to blow to the right, as evidenced by the victory of the regional coalition , which refers to the national governing majority. With the particular support of the centrist Calenda/Renzi area – and this is new -, despite the "wide field" that went from the Pd to the M5S.
If it is true that in local elections it is the local issues and candidates that make the difference (and the outgoing president, Vito Bardi, has been reconfirmed), it is equally clear that there is always a political aspect of possible protest against Rome. Instead, the vote in Potenza sounds in tune with Palazzo Chigi.
The other consideration is for the defeated, that is, the centre-left opposition front. For the second time, after the previous vote in Abruzzo, the alliance between the Democratic Party and Five Star does not take off.
The recent controversies between Giuseppe Conte and Elly Schlein on the political-judicial scandal involving exponents of the center-left in Puglia have certainly not helped. But even regardless of the contingency, it is the experiment as such, which was only successful in the vote in Sardinia, and above all due to the demerit of the centre-right opponents, which did not convince the electorate. If the two parties are united in their opposition to Giorgia Meloni's government, in the eyes of Italians, however, they appear divided between themselves on the economy and issues such as the war in Ukraine.
Add to this the discontent in the Democratic Party for the leader Schlein, accused of leading alone (she was forced not to put, as she would have liked, her name next to the party symbol for the European elections) and of being too accommodating towards the reasons of the M5S, that is, a movementist, rather than a reformist. The internal and external conflict on the left has not encouraged area voters.
But perhaps it is the third consideration that should worry winners and losers. For the first time in Basilicata the abstentions exceeded the voters, who were just 49.8%. If the "nothing changes anyway" rigmarole prevails, if civic disinterest leads one voter in two to stay at home, the "right to vote", the cornerstone of democracy, loses half of its effectiveness.
This does not mean downplaying the result of those who won, and who, moreover, had also won five years ago. It means, however, sounding the alarm to all parties. If the programs they promote and the candidates they propose, but above all their political action – or inaction – attract fewer and fewer voters, the responsibility lies only partly with those who desert the polls. Over the years, conscious and voluntary disaffection from voting has been added to the rate of statistically ineliminable indifference (but in 1948, other times, 92% of those entitled to vote in Italy voted). Phenomenon of universal disenchantment, not just national or regional.
Meditate, politicians, meditate.
(Published in L'Arena di Verona, Il Giornale di Vicenza, Bresciaoggi and Gazzetta di Mantova)
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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/elezioni-basilicata-sorprese-scenari/ on Sat, 27 Apr 2024 06:58:34 +0000.