After long negotiations for the choice of Giovanni Toti’s successor, and not without difficulty, the resolution of the impasse has finally arrived, leading to the endorsement of the Mayor of Genoa since 2017, Marco Bucci, as the candidate for president of Liguria for the center-right coalition in the elections scheduled for the next 27 and 28 October.
The decisive pressure came from Meloni and other leaders of the ruling coalition: Mayor Bucci accepted despite health issues.
He is the mayor of Genoa, the figure who has gained the consensus of all parties involved, more than Ilaria Cavo, who was heavily sponsored by former President Toti, and more than the Budget Assessor and former deputy mayor, lawyer Pietro Piciocchi.
The one who comes out defeated for his political future is Giovanni Toti, who pushed far too controversially for the name of his former Culture Assessor, now parliamentarian, Ilaria Cavo, to continue his experience in leading the Region in another way.
Bucci will not be forced to leave his position as mayor until the elections: if elected to the Region, it will be incompatible, while if he is defeated in the competition against the center-left candidate, former minister Andrea Orlando, he can return to the municipality.
The strongest push for Bucci’s candidacy came from the League, with Deputy Minister Edoardo Rixi, who was also considered one of the most promising candidates, followed by the leader of the Carroccio, Matteo Salvini.
Mayor Bucci will face the electoral campaign despite the serious health issues that have marked him in recent times. Recently, he announced publicly that he has completed a cycle of radiotherapy sessions.
The profile and excellent background of Mayor Marco Bucci has brought everyone together and is considered a potential trump card. He is still regarded as quite strong and with a significant approval rating. The mayor of Genoa is not under investigation, even though his name occasionally appears in the documents of the large investigation that has engulfed the top levels of the Ligurian Regional Council led by Giovanni Toti.
Furthermore, his profile is civic, which is necessary to convince the moderate segment of the electorate, the more undecided part on which the center-left coalition seems to face the greatest challenges. Current manager mayor Bucci has no obligation for early resignation during the electoral campaign, which he will undertake with strong commitment throughout Liguria, potentially keeping him away from both Palazzo Tursi and the role of commissioner for the construction of the new dam. Only in the event of victory will his resignation as mayor come into effect, and the Tursi administration would be led by the current Deputy Mayor, Pietro Piciocchi, until new elections in spring 2025. At that point, Piciocchi would indeed be the “natural” candidate of the center-right for any future municipal elections.
ROBERTO BOBBIO