A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #19-26 - There are those who see and provide. Local elections in Venice (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The results of the Venice municipal elections dominated the news media 
for several days. ---- The victory of center-right candidate Simone 
Venturini came unexpectedly, after a series of elections in which the 
parties supporting the defeated center-left candidate, Andrea Martella, 
had outperformed the opposing coalition. In the 2024 European elections, 
the PD, AVS, and M5S reached approximately 45%, compared to the 
center-right's combined 40%. In the 2025 regional elections, the two 
coalitions were tied, with a very slight advantage for the center-left. 
Finally, in the referendum on justice in Venice, the "NO" vote 
prevailed, with a record turnout both in percentage and absolute terms.

The latest municipal elections saw the coalition supporting Andrea 
Martella further increase its support in absolute terms, obtaining 
43,294 votes compared to 40,915 in the regional elections. However, it 
failed to capture the votes of voters who returned to the polls.

The explanations that have been circulating are at odds with the facts.

The idea that the Democratic Party lost support due to the agreement 
with the Bengali community regarding the mosque to be built on the 
mainland clashes with the increase in the Democratic Party's votes, from 
21,440 in the regional elections to 26,444 in the last municipal 
elections. Likewise, attributing the defeat to the Five Star Movement 
clashes with the fact that it too saw a rise in support compared to the 
regional elections.

Attributing the defeat to the choice of a "politician" alien to "civil 
society" or to the use of social media are equally irrelevant 
explanations, given that the numbers speak to a center-left defeat 
driven by the participation of a segment of the electorate that had not 
participated in either the 2024 European elections or the 2025 regional 
elections. This segment was mobilized not by memes or irrational fears, 
but by an organization deeply rooted in both the sestieri of the capital 
and the neighborhoods and towns of the mainland; an organization that 
launched a political project starting with the selection of the 
center-right candidate.

The new mayor of Venice, Simone Venturini, is the lagoon city's youngest 
mayor. He was elected by a center-right coalition and is a veteran 
politician. As Wikipedia informs us, he has a background in public and 
administrative law and began his electoral career by running in the 2010 
municipal elections on the Unione di Centro list, supporting center-left 
candidate Giorgio Orsoni. He was elected to the city council at the age 
of 22 and also became group leader. In the 2014 European elections, he 
ran for the Nuovo Centrodestra - Unione di Centro list, receiving 8,949 
votes but was not elected. In the 2015 municipal elections, he ran on 
the Brugnaro list within the center-right coalition, being elected with 
957 votes. That same year, he was appointed by the new mayor as 
councilor for social cohesion, labor, infrastructure, and economic 
development in the city council. He was re-elected to a third term in 
the 2020 municipal elections, reappointing him as councilor, along with 
responsibilities for tourism and residence policies.

This is clearly a break in continuity: in addition to the expiration of 
two terms, the Brugnaro administration has been at the center of 
political controversy and legal proceedings. The new mayor's personal 
history places him in a political arena strongly influenced by clerical 
influence, as demonstrated by his candidacies with the UDC and the Nuovo 
Centro parties, but equally clearly center-right and organic to the 
previous administration. The responsibilities he received as councilor 
from Venturini (social cohesion, tourism, and residence policies) bring 
him into conflict with the interests and policies of the Venetian Curia.

I certainly don't have the tools to pinpoint the causes of the phenomena 
that more expert commentators argue about, but I dare suggest that 
behind Venturini's election lies an uncommon commitment from the 
Patriarchate of Venice, a commitment that has given the new mayor's 
coalition a less fascist character. This was also facilitated by the 
fact that the prime minister did not expose herself by traveling to 
Venice to support the center-right candidate. Moreover, the political 
result achieved by the Church at the beginning of the Brugnaro 
administration, with the withdrawal from municipal nurseries and 
kindergartens of books containing fairy tales depicting same-sex 
families, had worldwide resonance, and we cannot risk throwing 
everything away by allowing a candidate like Martella, who wasn't even 
married in church, to be elected mayor.

In his homily on May 24, the first day of the elections, the Patriarch 
of Venice stated that "the contrast between Babel (where a single 
language becomes incomprehensible) and Pentecost (where many different 
languages are understood) is the heart of the mystery of unity.

At Babel, human pride attempts to build unity by imposing a single 
language and a single organization. The result is confusion, 
misunderstanding, and dispersion. In Jerusalem and at Pentecost, the 
Holy Spirit descends and unites humanity. He does not erase diversity, 
but enhances it: speaking different languages, all understand each other 
in the one message of Christ. It is unity in love and in diversity."

The Church is accustomed to speaking in allusions, allegories, and 
veiled threats that are difficult to interpret. However, it seems 
possible to interpret Babel's reference to the coalition that rejects 
the hegemony of the Holy Spirit, while the center-right coalition 
represents the Jerusalem in which, despite their diversity, the various 
components understand each other thanks to the message of Christ. It 
goes without saying that the authentic interpreter, both of the Holy 
Spirit and of Christ's message, is the Catholic Church.

If this interpretation is realistic, it is best to cast aside any 
illusions about the Church's supposedly progressive role: the Catholic 
hierarchy, like any religious hierarchy, confirms itself as the jealous 
guardian of tradition, both religiously and socially, and, despite 
captivating sermons, it cannot help but militate in the camp of 
conservatism and reaction. The Venice affair also provides insights for 
the upcoming elections: if the broad camp wants to govern, it must adapt 
its platform to the teachings of the Vicar of Peter, which can be summed 
up in the recommendation to the exploited classes to guarantee the 
privileged a paradise on earth in exchange, one day, for a paradise in 
heaven. We're still dealing with a two-step policy!

Tiziano Antonelli

https://umanitanova.org/ce-chi-vede-e-provvede-elezioni-amministrative-a-venezia/
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