In Prato Bugetti (Pd) wins with a wide field

The centre-left candidate was immediately elected with 52%, a disappointment for the Fratelli d'Italia candidate

PRATO – The Democratic Party confirms the leadership of the municipal administration in Prato with the help of the wide field. It is a success at the polls, with a victory – perhaps unexpected, but predicted by the trend of the polls – in the first round, the experimentation of the alliance between the Dems and the M5S in the municipal elections on Saturday and Sunday. The current regional councilor Ilaria Bugetti is the new mayor of the city, the first woman in the history of Prato to lead the administration. When the last sections arrive in the evening, Bugetti is encouraged by the consensus of over 42 thousand fellow citizens, equal to 52% of the people of Prato going to the polls, but already in the early afternoon with the first sections the trend is taking shape precise: the centre-left frontrunner above 50%, her most direct opponentthe Fdi exponent Gianni Cenni in the 40-41% area. An unbridgeable gap, made even more important by a minimal dispersion of preferences at the center. The numbers tell eloquently about the success of a successful electoral operation on the left and a significant retreat on the right compared to the contextual vote in the European elections. So if the sum between Pd-M5S-Avs for Strasbourg last night stopped at 45.71% against the 43.49% of Fdi-Lega-Forza Italia, in the municipal elections the distances become unbridgeable and drag the progressives well beyond the ‘ magic number’ of 50%.

ALLE COMUNALI PD AT THE TOP, CIVIC LIST AND SILLI

Few data stand out so eloquently, moreover, as the Pd at 33.4% in the list vote in the municipal elections compared to the 32.4% reported in the European elections. Conversely, 30.83% of Fdi for the European Parliament becomes 17.9% for the municipal ones. Where have the other consensuses gone in the meantime? On the civic list Gianni Cenni mayor, who obtained 14% but without being able to push beyond its borders a coalition that was far too close to hope to win again. Proof is the disappointing result of the list of the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Silli con Prato: just 2.4%. In the centre-left, on the other hand, the cumulative 10% of the two civic lists supporting Bugetti does not deprive the Democratic Party of a single vote, which is actually growing thanks to the challenge for preferences between new recruits and outgoing councillors. To tell the truth, a discordant note is also found on the left. The performances of Sinistra united Prato compared to Avs and the M5S are below the European level, both lists remaining below 4%. But they are detailed elements that do not alter the picture of Bugetti’s historical success.

THE NEW-MAYOR: ‘WON BY LISTENING TO THE CITY AND A UNITED TEAM

“We worked a lot, we listened to each other with great humility and without hiding the difficulties, but leaving room for our projects, for hope, for what we want to build – these are the first words of the newly elected mayor upon arrival at her committee, acclaimed by hundreds of supporters – we all did it together, it was great team work and this is what people felt, because then at the polls what counts is what was conveyed as emotions , projects and desire to be together”. Within the festive atmosphere, the now outgoing mayor Matteo Biffoni, also thanks to a very high approval rate found in the polls which contributed to driving the coalition, does not give up a blow to the centre-right for the style adopted during the electoral campaign: “Painting the city by proposing the Caivano model, describing the city invaded by dirt, explaining that nothing works, that there were only renderings, when in reality the people they see things done – specifies the local administrator, speaking to Dire – it was a crazy boomerang for them”.

THE FLOP OF THE THIRD POLE AND CIVIC CANDIDATES: THEY DO NOT GO MORE THAN 2%

An additional factor, in reality, must be cited to explain how inertia finally shifted to Bugetti’s side: the flop of the civic and centrists. Despite the third pole, although divided by the European Chamber, it had won the preference of more than 7% of voters. Mario Daneri, candidate of Iv-Azione under the Prato banner, deserves no more than 2.34%, Jonathan Targetti at the head of Targettopoli remains stuck at 2.31 %. Significant in this regard is a political gesture by the blogger who, in the middle of the electoral campaign, faced with polls that credited him with a poor result, and with a PD candidate close to winning on the first attempt, announced a complaint to Agcom >to ask to deepen the relationships between two opinion polling institutes, Emg and Winpoll, and the dem fearing. Voters, however, proved last weekend that that photograph was sincere.