Galimberti wins; first victory for Centre-Left in Varese

Hundreds of Davide Galimberti supporters greeted him at Palazzo Estense, singing the “po-po-po-po” of the anthem of the national football team.

 

The 23 years of the Lega Nord’s control in Varese has come to an end, and the political repercussions for the party, who had even put Roberto Maroni at the head of the list in the first round, will be serious.

 

The desire for change and discontinuity won. Davide Galimberti is the first mayor of a Centre-Left party to win the election since 1948. He got 51.84% of the votes, against the 48.16% that went to Paolo Orrigoni, a businessman without a membership card, who the Lega Nord had convinced to stand in February.

 

The difference in the second ballot was about 1200 votes, while in the first round, Orrigoni had had an advantage of 1823 votes. There were 16,814 votes for Davide Galimberti and 15,621 for Paolo Orrigoni. Galimberti gained in various sections, despite the lower turnout, a sign that the support of the Lega Civica for Stefano Malerba probably contributed, but not only; the inhabitants of Varese who had voted for other lists, or who did not believe the Centre-Left would win in the first round, also came back to vote.

The abstentions were high, only 50.2% of people voted, and in the end, they chose the Centre-Left.

“The results are clear,” said Paolo Orrigoni, the first person to reach the town hall to comment on the defeat. “I’m sorry for everyone who believed in us over these last few months, and for my coalition. I’ll stay on the town council, in the opposition, and I hope to do a good job all the same.”

“I’m going to be everyone’s mayor,” said Galimberti, who, in the chaos at Palazzo Estense, was raised up like a goal scorer. “Tomorrow, I’ll get to work on the new council, but meanwhile, for the first time, the Left can dream and enjoy its victory.”