Who is Acquaroli, the Melonian governor on his encore after wresting Marche from the left

Francesco Acquaroli, outgoing president of the Marche region, managed to do an encore, beating challenger Matteo Ricci. The victory dedication went to the premier, 'the first of all who believed in me'. "I thank our ruling class, of the centre-right in the Marche region, which has been united and cohesive in the challenge of a land. In these five years, we have begun to tackle problems in depth, seeking discontinuity. It has been an important job'. These were his first words after being reconfirmed as president of Marche. In his election campaign Acquaroli, 50, a member of Fratelli d'Italia, insisted on the results achieved by his junta: from healthcare to infrastructure, from inland areas to tourism. Five years characterised, he reiterated several times, by the pandemic and the disasters caused by the flood.

Backed by the support of the national government, loyal to premier Meloni, the outgoing governor cashed in on the announcement of Marche's entry, through a government bill, into the Special Economic Zone (Zes) in the last weeks of the election campaign, defined as 'an opportunity and an answer to the demands of entrepreneurs in recent years'. In addition to this, the government has gone out of its way to support the Fratelli d'Italia exponent's race with visits by ministers and national centre-right leaders, starting with the rally with Prime Minister Meloni and Vice-Premiers Tajani and Salvini

Born in Macerata but resident in Potenza Picena in the province of Macerata, he stood for the third time in an election for the leadership of Palazzo Raffaello: on the first occasion, in 2015, he was defeated by his centre-left rival Luca Ceriscioli. In 2020, on the other hand, supported by the centre-right coalition, he beat Maurizio Mangialardi, the former mayor of Senigallia of the PD party: an overwhelming result (49.13% against his rival's 37.28%) that allowed the centre-right to wrest the leadership of a historically 'red' region from the centre-left after about 25 years. In this electoral round, he was supported by seven lists: in addition to his party, Fratelli d'Italia, Lega, Forza Italia, Noi Moderati, the lists 'Civici Marche', 'Marchigiani per Acquaroli' and 'Udc-Liste Civiche'.

After graduating in economics and business administration, he started working as a financial consultant, but it is his political career that he has dedicated himself to the most. In 2010, he was elected regional councillor in the Popolo della libertà list, a party he left to join Fratelli d'Italia. In 2014 he ran for mayor of Potenza Picena and, after his victory, left his seat at Palazzo Leopardi to devote himself to the municipality. In 2018, a year before the end of his term, he ran for the general elections and was elected deputy. In 2019, he stood in the European elections, but was not elected. In 2020 the decisive turning point.