Europeans, from Sgarbi to Bandecchi: all those who flopped

There are those who seemed to be left out and were eventually elected (like Marco Tarquino ). And those who never got off the ground in preference gathering and will not go to the European Parliament. The list of 'excellent failures' is long: from Vittorio Sgarbi to Alessandra Mussolini passing through Vincenzo Sofo (outgoing MEP, husband of Marine Le Pen's niece) are not among the 76 elected. Then there are the victims of the barrage: positive personal result but missed election because the nationwide list remained below the 4% quorum. This is the case of Sandra Lonardo, wife of Clemente Mastella and candidate with the United States of Europe, the electoral alliance of Matteo Renzi and Emma Bonino (both excluded from the Euro Chamber) which stopped at 3.75% and did little better than Action of the former centrist ally Carlo Calenda (3.35%).

  Among the lists that remained dry, looking at the final results of the European elections, one can count 'Peace, land and dignity' of journalist Michele Santoro (2.21%), 'Freedom' of the mayor of Taormina Cateno De Luca (1.22) and 'Popular Alternative' of the mayor of Terni Stefano Bandecchi (0.39%).

There has long been uncertainty over Tarquinio's election due to the blackout in the counting in Rome (at 11.20am on Tuesday, 78 sections were still missing). The Roman journalist, long-time editor of the bishops' newspaper and candidate with the Democratic Party, is expected to prevail over the other Dem member Alessia Morani. It is certain, however, that the art critic Sgarbi will not go to Brussels: the former undersecretary for Culture in the Meloni government, surprisingly included in the Fratelli d'Italia lists and present in the South constituency, has collected just under 23,000 preferences. She will not return to Europe Alessandra Mussolini, outgoing MEP running with Forza Italia-Noi moderati received 7,645 votes in the southern constituency and 7,282 in the central one. Insufficient numbers for a ticket to Brussels. The same fate befell Renata Polverini: the former president of the Lazio Region and former member of the Blue Party was a candidate in central Italy with Fi where only 10,205 voters wrote her name on the ballot paper. One of the 'excellent' names excluded is Vincenzo Sofo, an MEP who has moved from the League to Fratelli d'Italia and is married to Marion Maréchal, Marine Le Pen's niece. For him 8,090 votes in the North-West constituency. A disappointing result compared to the 32,000 preferences of five years ago, when he exploited the electoral wave of the League.

Not even Claudio Borghi , leghista no euro, will go to Strasbourg. The Lega Lega senator, recently at the centre of controversy for having called for the resignation of the president of the Republic as well as the author of the proposal against the obligation to display European flags from public buildings, recalls that he stood as a candidate "above all to lend a hand at an important moment without any chance of election" and that he reached "the goal of 10,000 preferences (at the moment, as I write, there are about 1,500 sections to go and we should arrive at around that number)" adding that "it was not to be taken for granted".

It was a different story for Sandra Lonardo: 'I was the most voted woman in the province of Benevento,' said Clemente Mastella's wife: 'With 12,750 preferences, I surpassed the incumbent Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was objectively very strong nationally, but here in the Sannio area she obtained 10,487. More than two thousand less than me'. Lonardo was a candidate with Stati Uniti d'Europa, which turned out to be 'the first party in the city of Benevento', a city led since 2016 by her husband. The list, however, stopped below the 4% quorum at national level and therefore did not trigger the election. Less than 3,000 preferences for Alessandro Cecchi Paone known as 'Cecchi' or 'Peacock' (so on the ballot paper), also a candidate with Renzi-Bonino.