Sardinia has chosen Alessandra Todde
as new governor, the island's first woman chief, on an
unforgettable day, ex premier and leftist populist 5-Star
Movement (M5S) Giuseppe Conte said as the former M5S deputy
president looked on course for an extremely slim victory over
the centre right's Paolo Truzzu at the head of a 'broad field'
alliance between the M5S and the centre-left Democratic Party
(PD).
"Sardinia has chosen our Alessandra Todde," said Conte at
campaign headquarters with Todde holding a 3% lead with a
handful of polling stations still to report in.
"She is the first regional president of the M5s, the first woman
to lead Sardinia.
"It is an unforgettable day".
Conte added that the 'broad field' alliance could be replicated
if the M5S finds "reliable comrades" in another upcoming
regional election, in Abruzzo on March 10.
In that case the PD and the M5S and their small leftwing allies
will be joined by two centrist parties, former premier and ex PD
chief Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva) and former industry minister
Carlo Calenda's Azione (Action), who both boycotted the alliance
in Sardinia because it was led by a figure from the allegedly
extremist M5S.
The victory in Sardinia, Conte said, "is worth even more"
because there was "Soru who with Azione went to fish for votes
in the progressive camp", referring to tech magnate and local
hero Renato Sour, a former PD governor, who teamed up with
Calenda in Sardinia and collected 8.7% of the vote.
Conte reiterated that what he called "the right field", rather
than the broad field, could be victorious elsewhere.
"We always work to build a solid project with other political
and civic forces, with reliable fellow travellers," he told
Italian TV.
"We cannot make a commitment with the citizens if we have
unreliable companions, because this would lead to
ungovernability and we do not go to government to manage power
but to bring about change".
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