, Columnist
What Salvini's Setback Means for Italy
It would be foolish to rule out the League. Emilia-Romagna was an ambitious target and Five Star’s implosion makes the coalition ever more fragile.
Tasting defeat.
Photographer: Ettore Ferrari/ANSAThis article is for subscribers only.
In the end, Italy’s red wall held up against Matteo Salvini’s assault.
The leader of the right-wing League had hoped to score a famous win in a regional election in Emilia-Romagna, an area with strong leftist traditions. Voters thought otherwise: Stefano Bonaccini, the incumbent Democratic Party governor, won convincingly on Sunday against his opponent, Lucia Borgonzoni. The populist Five Star Movement collapsed to less than 5%.