On Sunday and Monday, the 6th and 7th of May 2012, voters around Italy voted on 942 municipal vacancies, including mayoral posts in 22 provincial capitals, most notably Verona, Palermo, and Genoa. In this election, the first since Premier Mario Monti assumed office, left-wing and grassroots parties fared better than Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) party.
Incumbent Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi of the right-wing Northern League reclaimed his post with 57 percent of the vote in a first round victory that he called “a victory for the citizens of Verona despite everything”.
In Palermo, anti-Mafia campaigner Leoluca Orlando from the Italy of Values party came close to victory with 47 percent of the vote, as did leading Genovese leftist candidate Marco Doria, who took 46 percent of the vote. Both candidates will have to await the mayoral run-off vote on the 20th and 21st of May.
Author, scriptwriter, and film director Federico Moccia won the mayoral election in Rosello, Abruzzo, in the first round. Best known for his novel Tre metri sopra il cielo (Three steps over heaven), Moccia told AGI that he wants to “promote these amazing places, where nature is wonderful and there are several romantic landscapes.”
Of the 9 million Italians eligible to vote in these elections, only 67.5 percent made it to the polls, a decrease of 6.5 percent from the turnout of the last municipal elections. Interior Minister Annamaria Cancellieri said in a press conference that “Everyone can see the lack of interest for parties and institutions—which causes great concern”, while Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Italian Bishop’s Conference and Archbishop of Genoa, also commented that “participation is crucial. There is a right-duty to participate in public affairs and society”.
