Bardi camp rejoices, Marrese HQ dejected

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 22 - The election campaign office of centre-right Basilicata incumbent governor Vito Bardi rejoiced while that of his centre-left opponent Piero Marrese was dejected after an exit poll showed the former at 53-57% of the vote and the latter at just 41-45%.
    Bardi is the candidate of Premier Giorgia Meloni's ruling coalaition of her rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI), the rightwing League of Deputy Premier and Transport and Infrastrcture Minister Matteo Salvini and the centre-right post Berlusconi Forza Italia (FI) party of Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
    In this case he has also been backed by the centrist parties of former premier and former centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi, Italia Viva (IV), and Azione of former industry minister Carlo Calenda.
    In previous regional elections in Abruzzo last month, those two parties had been on the other side of the political divide, backing the PD of Elly Schlein and their sometime and reluctant allies in the leftist populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) led by former premier Giuseppe Conte.
    After the poll for Telenorba came out, Bardi and his family, close assistants, went to the electoral committee, set up like five years ago in a hotel on the outskirts of Potenza, where the news of the clear advantage was received with great enthusiasm, although Bardi sources stressed there was caution as they awaited the first official results.
    Meanwhile in the headquarters of Marrese, who was backed by the PD and the M5S in Sunday and Monday's vote, no one yet had come forward to speak to journalists but there was a clear air of disappointment.
    Marrese, president of the province of Matera and mayor of the town of Montalbano Jonico, was expected to turn up at the electoral committee in the centre of the Lucanian capital in an hour or so.
    At a national level, FI MP Giorgio Mulè, deputy speaker of the Lower House, said "we'll wait for the real votes but the exit poll has been extraordinary".
    FI veteran Senator Maurizio Gasparri, the local bodies pointmand for the former party of late three-time ex-premier and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, said "if the exit poll results are confirmed then it will show that FI was right to propose Bardi".
    FI leader Tajani said "I'm awaiting the real votes but I'm satisfied with the Basilicata outcome, if the exit poll proves to be accurate". (ANSA).