The Italian right has won the partial elections held in the district of Reggio Calabria-Locri, in a vote that was particularly followed for the first electoral challenge of Roberto Vannacci since the creation of his party, Futuro Nacional. Fabio Roscioli, candidate of the Government coalition, has obtained 51.02% of the votes.
The candidate of Futuro Nacional, Domenico Giannetta, has come in third place with 10.94%, behind Frank Benedetto, candidate of an alliance of opposition parties, who has achieved 36.59%. Francesco Toscano, from Sovereign and Popular Democracy, has obtained 1.44%.
The first electoral test of Vannacci
The election had particular relevance for Futuro Nacional because it represented their first participation in the polls since Vannacci announced the creation of the formation in February. The party had increased its presence in Italian politics over the last few months and had positioned Reggio Calabria as one of its first scenarios to measure its electoral support. Giannetta had left Forza Italia to join Vannacci's formation and present himself as a candidate in the partial elections. His candidacy provoked a confrontation with the regional leadership of Forza Italia during the campaign.
Voter turnout was one of the highlighted elements of the electoral day. By 11 PM on the first day of voting, 14.97% of the electorate had gone to the polls, although the polling stations reopened on Monday between 7 AM and 3 PM. The district had 345,788 voters, of whom 58,729 resided abroad. The elections were held to fill the seat left vacant by Francesco Cannizzaro after he left Congress upon being elected mayor of Reggio Calabria.
The result and the upcoming general elections
The result comes as Italy prepares for the upcoming general elections, scheduled for 2027. Futuro Nacional had appeared in the polls as a new force capable of contesting electoral space from the parties that make up the current majority.
The campaign in Reggio Calabria had also been marked by the debate about the relationship between Vannacci's party and the rest of the Italian right. Vannacci himself had defended during the campaign that Futuro Nacional did not intend to act as a subordinate force to Forza Italia, but to develop its own political space. The result leaves Roscioli as the new deputy for the Reggio Calabria-Locri district and places Giannetta in third position, with a distance of more than 25 points from the center-right candidate.