Defeat stings but Meloni looks ahead. Fi overtakes Lega

Nothing dramatic, but still a defeat. And if the defeat in Emilia Romagna was taken for granted, the re-conquest of Umbria by the centre-left is a wound that stings a lot. Giorgia Meloni takes note of this and from Rio de Janeiro, where she is attending the G20, sends a message of good wishes to the two winners, Michele de Pascale and Stefania Proietti, with whom she hopes to collaborate. Then thanks to Elena Ugolini and the outgoing governor Donatella Tesei, when no one in the centre-right had yet spoken on the Umbrian figure. A choice, that of the premier, which signals her intention to immediately put the ugly result of this electoral weekend behind her. Ugly also for the sidereal distance between the two candidates in Emilia Romagna and for the almost six-point gap in Umbria, where initially the polls spoke of a neck-and-neck battle. The outgoing governor Tesei herself admits that she did not expect such a significant distance.

Then there is also the results of the individual lists to be reckoned with. Fratelli d'Italia lost more than 10 points compared to the European and political elections. And contrary to what happened in Liguria, where the premier's party contributed strongly to the success of the civic lists supporting Marco Bucci, a candidate because he was strongly supported by Meloni, in Umbria the civic lists also did badly. For more than one person it is the confirmation that the Fdi without Meloni in the field are destined to emerge defeated.

Not only that. The numbers also underline that the contribution of Stefano Bandecchi, the debated mayor of Terni, was useless. His Alternativa Popolare stopped at around 3% and Tesei also lost in Terni city. A disappointing result on which perhaps the discontent unleashed within the centre-right (and in particular within Fdi) over an agreement with the man who had been the main opponent at the last municipal elections in the second Umbrian city also weighed. To those who asked Donatella Tesei for an opinion on Fdi's disappointing result, which probably cost her the victory, the former governor diplomatically replied by assuring that 'all parties gave their best'. Even the League is in fact forced to lick its wounds. Firstly, because it has lost the leadership of a region anyway (Tesei is of the League). And then it has again been overtaken by Forza Italia in both regions.

Matteo Salvini commented, reiterating that the voters "are always right", but in Umbria the Azzurri's overtaking of the Carroccio was even more painful, also because this time Fi had presented itself alone, without the contribution of Noi moderati, Maurizio Lupi's formation which, moreover, took more votes than Bandecchi at the regional level. "We are satisfied, we have doubled the votes," says Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani, who compares yesterday's result with that of the regional elections five years ago, even though there has been an advance over the European elections as well.

Now - as they say in these cases - there will be reflection. Everyone in these hours, if pressed, is hastening to say that there will be no repercussions in the majority and in the government. But there is a risk that the fibrillations, also due to the passage of the Budget Law and the new balances that are being determined internationally, could exacerbate the cracks caused by the vote. The hunt for responsibility has inevitably already begun. First of all on the ruling class called upon to compete. In Umbria, the Tesei government has evidently not convinced, just as in Emilia Romagna the accusation made by the central government against the Region and the mayors on responsibility for the lack of post-flood works has not passed.