Meloni gets 2.5 million preferences, beats Salvini's record. Decaro first among the Dems, Vannacci pushes the League. Salis elected

Giorgia Meloni, as it was easy to predict, is the absolute consensus leader in these European elections. With the counting not yet over, the leader of Fdi, candidate as leader in all five constituencies, conquered 2.5 million preferences (with the best result in the North West: 623,000). The premier (who will not go to Strasbourg and will cede her seat to other Fdi candidates) despite the resounding exploit, does not surpass the absolute record of preferences set by Silvio Berlusconi in 1999: three million votes at the European elections at the time. But he did break the record of 2.35 million votes obtained by Matteo Salvini in the last European elections in 2019 in the five Italian constituencies.

After Meloni, far behind, among the most voted in the ranks of Fdi (which elected 25 MEPs) the outgoing MEP Nicola Procaccini, co-chairman of the ECR group in Strasbourg, with over 117 thousand preferences. As well as the former mayor of Pagani (in the province of Salerno) Alberico Gambino with 92 thousand preferences and the president of the regional group in Puglia Francesco Ventola (almost 89 thousand).

In the PD (21 elected deputies), it is exploit for the outgoing mayor of Bari Antonio Decaro. The judicial enquiries for vote bargaining, which have involved the Emiliano junta, have not affected his popularity. On the contrary. Decaro is the most voted Pd candidate in these European elections. Appearing only in the South - where the Pd is the first party, Decaro collected 496,000 votes (of which 350,000 in Puglia), doubling the Dem leader in the South Lucia Annunziata, (who collected 241,000 preferences). He is followed by the governor of Emilia Romagna and president of the Democratic Party Stefano Bonaccini, with over 384 thousand votes, of which 257 thousand in his region. In third place is Cecilia Strada, the leader in the North West, who has 283 thousand preferences. The former mayor of Bergamo Giorgio Gori, candidate in the North West, is at 210 thousand. While the Elly Schlein , leader in the Centre and Islands, is around 250 thousand preferences (over 160 thousand in the Centre and 85 thousand in the Islands). But she too, like Meloni, will not go to Strasbourg. Over 100 thousand preferences for the former president of the Lazio Region Nicola Zingaretti, for the former mayor of Florence Dario Nardella and for the outgoing mayor of Pesaro Matteo Ricci. All elected.

Below the psychological threshold of 10%, the League's result (at 9%, slightly up from 8.8% in the last political elections) is driven by General Roberto Vannacci. Candidate in all the constituencies, the general collects more than 530 thousand votes: more than 186 thousand in the North-West (more than double those of the leader Silvia Sardone - 75 thousand - outgoing MEP), 142 thousand in the North-East, about 100 thousand in the Centre, more than 72 thousand in the South and 35 thousand in the Islands. Vannacci leads the League in preferences in all constituencies except the Islands.

 Ilaria Salis fills up with preferences in the two constituencies where she is a candidate with Avs (6.6%), the North-West, where she is the leader, and the Islands. The activist under house arrest with an electronic bracelet in Budapest, gets 126 thousand votes in the North-West constituency where she is the most voted Avs candidate. And 50 thousand preferences in the Islands (again first in list preferences). In total she exceeds 176 thousand votes and is elected to the European Parliament.