Silvio Berlusconi, the leader of the “Forward Italy” party and former Prime Minister, believes that the results of the regional elections held in the Apennines, require a change of national government.
The elections in the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Calabria were held on Sunday with a very high turnout. According to exit-poll, a convincing victory in Calabria was won by a representative of the center-right forces, the candidate of “Forward Italy” Yole Santelli. In Emilia Romagna, so far, the leader is left center-right candidate, member of the ruling Democratic Party, Stefano Bonaccini. In both regions, the main force of the current ruling coalition in Italy – Five Star Movement (M5S) has shown modest results and could not hold its gubernatorial candidates.
“Now begins a new period, and if the word ‘democracy’ still makes sense, we need to change the (national) government by giving the floor to the voters”, – Berlusconi said during a telephone conversation with his supporters in Calabria.
“Yole Santelli has shown excellent results. Under her leadership, Calabria will become a symbol of the liberation of southern Italy. The Left is no longer able to talk to its electorate. This data sentences the M5S to the most insignificant role”, – said the former prime minister.
Santelli herself could not thank Berlusconi for his active support, as she almost completely broke her voice and had to whisper to her supporters. Nevertheless, her success spurred the entire “Forward Italy” party, which became the most influential political force of the center-right bloc in Calabria, ahead of the “League” Matteo Salvini.
In the run-up to this regional election, the leaders of all the center-right parties assured that the result would certainly have an impact on the political situation at the national level. However, they expected, above all, a victory in Emilia Romagna, which was considered the citadel of Italian left-wing forces throughout the post-war period. Judging by the preliminary results, the right-wing forces failed to achieve this goal, even though the League gained more than 30% of votes there.
Salvini even hastened to declare his party the new leading political force of Emilia Romagna. Otherwise, the leader of the League, speaking to journalists in Bologna, was more careful in his assessments and did not repeat the demands for early elections in Italy. He limited himself to emphasizing the major political defeat of M5S.
“Emilia Romagna and Calabria are the two regions where the 5 Stars Movement was born and where it received the most votes. So it is obvious: tomorrow something will change in Rome”, – said the former deputy prime minister.