Giorgia Meloni attacks the "left, marginalized by its arrogance," and reiterates that the referendum on justice will certainly not decide her fate, because it will come "at the end of the legislature" and then "only Italians can send me home." Matteo Salvini, on the other hand, harps on the issue of security, announcing that he is working on an ad hoc decree, and dusts off his old anti-migrant tone: "Out with anyone who doesn't respect our culture, our symbols, our religion, and our constitution." Meanwhile, Antonio Tajani takes aim at the center-right's opponent in Puglia: "Decaro means Emiliano. Emiliano means Decaro. So nothing changes; we'd just carry on as things are today, which don't work."
Before the leaders, on the stage at Bari's Teatro Team (2,000 seats, sold out, with two giant screens for those left out), the government majority's frontrunner, entrepreneur Luigi Lobuono, took to the stage. Two weeks before the November 23-24 elections, he showed no signs of hiding his emotion, claiming to have been "born on January 15th, like Meloni," and reiterating his programmatic promises: "200,000 jobs in 24 months," reviving a "dismantled" healthcare system, and, in short, "getting Puglia moving like... I can't say a Ferrari, but let's say a McLaren."
These are, after all, tough times for the Maranello reds. And the center-right is certainly not starting from pole position, seeing the challenge as complex but not a foregone conclusion. It is primarily focused on reawakening those who typically abstain (about 40% in this region), considered a veritable "third pole." Who wins is decided by "those who stay at home," but "those who don't vote for five years shouldn't be a pain in the ass if things don't work out," is the summary of Salvini, who has allied himself with the UDC and the New Socialist Party and hopes to give the League "the best result in its history in Puglia." Healthcare is at the forefront of the agenda, and Meloni (who sparked a standing ovation by quoting Pinuccio Tatarella) announced progress in reducing waiting lists, "1.3 million more procedures," with the prospect of exceeding "over 2 million" by the end of the year.
The leaders attacked Emiliano's handling of the Xylella crisis, with Tajani announcing an "innovative project" and the prime minister claiming the "€300 million from the Coltiva Italia plan." Only Lobuono mentioned the Ilva crisis, which will be at the center of the discussion with the unions tomorrow at Palazzo Chigi.
But beyond local issues, tensions are rising on national issues. Starting with the budget, which "takes courage to call it for the rich" and would have been "a huge budget without the €40 billion in credit for the super bonus," the prime minister points out. In the background, disagreements remain over the banks' contribution, FI's pressure on dividends and short-term rentals, and the League's push for increased resources for law enforcement and expanded debt relief.
Not to mention the controversy over the twenty-year period as seen by Roberto Vannacci: for Salvini, "fascism was defeated by history," while Tajani clarifies that the general's views are not his own. Maurizio Landini, on the other hand, is the target of convergent attacks, with the FI leader pointing the finger at the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) for "playing politics to make him the future secretary of the Democratic Party." The property tax is dismissed with sarcasm ("It would further bind subject citizens to power and the politician of the day," says Maurizio Lupi). And the justice reform is heralded by allies as an act of "freedom" for the judiciary.
"I'm certain that thousands of magistrates will vote in favor in the secrecy of the ballot box. Even many left-wing figures," Meloni assures, denouncing that group as "on the margins of political life" due to "arrogance." The prime minister offers an example, referring to Umberto Galimberti without naming him: "On TV, he said I win because the person who does my makeup is so good. " She dismisses them as "superficial" readings by "armchair intellectuals," "notwithstanding the fact that I do my own makeup and I don't even do it that well."
(Unioneonline)
