Marco Bucci, who had previously won two mayoral races in Genoa, unexpectedly secured victory in the Liguria regional election in Savona and Imperia. Despite being outperformed by Andrea Orlando in Genoa and La Spezia, Bucci’s success in the Ponente provinces allowed him to defeat Orlando by a narrow margin. Claudio Scajola’s stronghold in Imperia played a crucial role in Bucci’s victory, as he garnered thousands of votes more than Orlando in that area. The close race between the two candidates, characterized by numerous lead changes, was ultimately decided in Savona, where the controversial issue of the Rigassificatore supported by Toti did not aid Orlando as expected, but rather favored Bucci.
In Savona province, Bucci had a lead of approximately 3,000 votes. Four years ago, Toti easily won the Liguria region with a substantial amount of votes, making his list the leading force in the coalition with 22%. Bucci’s narrow victory in Liguria can also be attributed to the absence of that reservoir of support. Bucci must primarily thank Fratelli d’Italia (Fdi), which garnered 14% of the votes and gained 4 points compared to 2020, becoming the leading party in the center-right coalition. Bucci’s two civic lists together obtained just under 15% of the votes, with the one containing several candidates from Toti’s administration faring better (9%). The League plummeted from 17% to 8%, while Forza Italia rose from 5% to 7.8%, contributing to the victory.
Orlando performed well in the Province of Genoa and the city itself, where he received thousands more votes than Bucci. Additionally, he won in the Province of La Spezia with a smaller margin. Despite these successes, Orlando’s preferences were not enough to triumph over his opponent. The Democratic Party experienced a surge from 19.8% in 2020 to 28% in the current election, but it was not enough to secure victory. The crisis within the Five Star Movement, which dropped to around 4.7% from 8% in 2020, also did not aid Orlando. The Civil List of Orlando surpassed the M5s and gathered around 6% of the votes, while Avs received 6% and the Civic Pact, which included Action among other forces, received less than 2%.
Orlando’s list obtained around 5%, falling short of securing victory. Former Five Star Movement member Nicola Morra received nearly 5,000 votes running independently, with a similar number of votes going to communist Nicola Rollando. Despite the strong performance of the Democratic Party and some other smaller parties, the overall results favored Bucci in the regional election. This unexpected outcome highlights the complexity of regional politics and the significance of factors such as local issues and the strengths and weaknesses of individual candidates and parties in influencing electoral results.
