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Carlo Solimene
Politics, like life, is made up of “sliding doors.” Small, seemingly insignificant events that actually determine an earthquake and run the risk of changing the course of history.
Susanna Ceccardi, the woman chosen by Matteo Salvini to attempt the miracle of conquering red Tuscany for the first time, knows this well. At the end of a climb that begins thanks (or for) the “other” Matteo, Renzi.
To understand why it is necessary to rewind the tape and return to early 2016. When the Democratic Party, which has been running steadily since the postwar Cascina, a city in the province of Pisa, finds itself divided by the new nomination of outgoing mayor Alessio Antonelli. A weak profile, according to the ruling class of the party at the time, the Renzians, in fact. So the scrapper’s loyalists target Antonelli, win the primaries and line up compactly with challenger Andrea Paganelli.
In the end, the outgoing mayor largely prevails, but the division in the party is evident. Not only that: even the image that is transmitted abroad is not the best. “To have questioned the outgoing mayor was like saying to the voters” I’m sorry, we were wrong “, the governor of the Region Enrico Rossi will reconstruct months later.
At first it doesn’t seem like much damage. At the bottom of these latitudes, the Democratic Party feels so secure that it does not fear stomach pain and internal disputes. Nor is there an opponent on the other side of the fence capable of causing much concern. In fact, the center-right has nominated Susanna Ceccardi, twenty-nine years old. A girl, well, in addition to the Northern League. A lot less …
The girl, however, is not stupid. In 2011 she was elected city councilor, the first from Carroccio to triumph in the province of Pisa. In short, a predestined one. Which, in fact, the following June 5, surprisingly, forces Antonelli to vote. A red flag for the left, although the outgoing mayor’s lead over the challenger seems reassuring: 14 percentage points, almost 3,000 votes.
Instead, the unthinkable happens in the second round. The anti-Antonelli campaign of the Renzians produces its delayed effects. The outgoing mayor is basically limited to confirming the votes of the first round. Instead, the challenger wins 3,400. The percentages said: Ceccardi 50.29%, Antonelli 49.71. More significant, however, is the gap in terms of consensus: the League takes a total of 101 more than the opponent. Yes, because when we talk about Renzi and the Democratic Party, 101 always comes back in some way …
It is at that moment that Ceccardi becomes a national character. Salvini pounced on the city to celebrate the historic milestone of the first mayor of the Northern League in Tuscany, continuing the ascent with the European Parliament elections in 2019 and, today, the candidacy for governor. With the awareness of challenging a rival who is anything but irresistible, which Eugenio Giani imposed on the center-left -look a bit- once again by Matteo Renzi.
A year ago, settling in Strasbourg, Ceccardi said that he would put a photo of the scrapyard in his office: “A warning not to end the same way, and to remind me what happens if you get angry.” True, but perhaps a small debt of gratitude to the other most important Matteo in his life was also involved …
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