The election campaign office of
centre-right Basilicata incumbent governor Vito Bardi rejoiced
while that of his centre-left opponent Piero Marrese was
dejected after an exit poll showed the former at 53-57% of the
vote and the latter at just 41-45%.
Bardi is the candidate of Premier Giorgia Meloni's ruling
coalaition of her rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI), the
rightwing League of Deputy Premier and Transport and
Infrastrcture Minister Matteo Salvini and the centre-right post
Berlusconi Forza Italia (FI) party of Deputy Premier and Foreign
Minister Antonio Tajani.
In this case he has also been backed by the centrist parties of
former premier and former centre-left Democratic Party (PD)
leader Matteo Renzi, Italia Viva (IV), and Azione of former
industry minister Carlo Calenda.
In previous regional elections in Abruzzo last month, those two
parties had been on the other side of the political divide,
backing the PD of Elly Schlein and their sometime and reluctant
allies in the leftist populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) led by
former premier Giuseppe Conte.
After the poll for Telenorba came out, Bardi and his family,
close assistants, went to the electoral committee, set up like
five years ago in a hotel on the outskirts of Potenza, where the
news of the clear advantage was received with great enthusiasm,
although Bardi sources stressed there was caution as they
awaited the first official results.
Meanwhile in the headquarters of Marrese, who was backed by the
PD and the M5S in Sunday and Monday's vote, no one yet had come
forward to speak to journalists but there was a clear air of
disappointment.
Marrese, president of the province of Matera and mayor of the
town of Montalbano Jonico, was expected to turn up at the
electoral committee in the centre of the Lucanian capital in an
hour or so.
At a national level, FI MP Giorgio Mulè, deputy speaker of the
Lower House, said "we'll wait for the real votes but the exit
poll has been extraordinary".
FI veteran Senator Maurizio Gasparri, the local bodies pointmand
for the former party of late three-time ex-premier and media
mogul Silvio Berlusconi, said "if the exit poll results are
confirmed then it will show that FI was right to propose Bardi".
FI leader Tajani said "I'm awaiting the real votes but I'm
satisfied with the Basilicata outcome, if the exit poll proves
to be accurate".
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