Who is civic-minded Lobuono, at his encore in politics after 20 years to wrest Puglia from Decaro
Former president of the Fiera del Levante,in 2004 he challenged Michele Emiliano who made the leap from magistrate to politics as mayor of Bari. But he stopped then at 41%
Entrepreneur Luigi Lobuono is the centre-right candidate for the regional elections in Apulia on 23 and 24 November. He will attempt the 'mission impossible' of beating centre-left candidate Antonio Decaro. A Forza Italia member, although not a member, Lobuono was president of the Fiera del Levante. The name had been circulating for a few days, took on weight on Friday evening and then became firmly established, but not before asking Forza Italia regional coordinator Mauro D'Attis for his final availability, which did not come.
Civic candidacy
And D'Attis has launched his candidacy by stressing the importance of a civic approach to the electoral challenge ('The civic option is also the key to starting the electoral campaign right away. We are ready to support a civic candidate'). For Lobuono, the electoral campaign is off to an uphill start, with little more than fifty days to go. All the more so since his rival is a 'heavyweight' of Apulian politics: that Antonio Decaro, former Dem mayor of Bari, deeply rooted in the territory and recordman of preferences (500,000) at the 2024 European elections.
Entrepreneur in publishing
Born in 1955, Lobuono belongs to a family of publishers historically close to the socialist area, active in the distribution of newspapers and in the 2000s with stakes in the daily La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno.
The challenge with Emiliano in 2004
Il “civico” Lobuono non è nuovo però alla politica attiva. Nel lontano 2004 fu lui a sfidare Michele Emiliano che da magistrato fece il salto in politica come sindaco di Bari. Sotto il simbolo del Polo delle Libertà, impostò la campagna elettorale su temi ambientali e di rigenerazione urbana, proponendo “un ambiente migliore” come priorità per Bari. Ma si fermò allora al 41% contro un Emiliano neofita della politica ma già favorito. Fu Raffaele Fitto, allora presidente della Regione e uomo forte di Forza Italia in Puglia, a imporre la figura di Lobuono. Quest’ultimo conservò lo scranno in Consiglio comunale per pochi mesi perché poi si concentrò nella guida della Fiera del Levante. Ne è stato presidente, infatti, dal 2001 al 2006. Anni in cui ha accompagnato due presidenti del Consiglio nella cerimonia del taglio del nastro, Silvio Berlusconi e Romano Prodi, e altrettanti governatori, Raffaele Fitto e Nichi Vendola
