Liguria, Toti dives back into politics with a mission to Rome to find a candidate –

First a meeting with his group of Noi Moderati at Palazzo Theodoli, then a meeting with Matteo Salvini at the Ministry of Transport, followed by lunch with Maurizio Lupi, Ilaria Cavo and Pino Bicchielli, a face-to-face meeting in the afternoon with Maurizio Gasparri at the Senate and an evening meeting in Via della Scrofa with Giovanni Donzelli, a loyal supporter of Giorgia Meloni. Giovanni Toti returns to Rome for his first outing outside Liguria after the revocation of his house arrest on charges of corruption and illicit financing, as part of an investigation opened by the Genoa Prosecutor’s Office. In a pinstriped suit with a blue tie and a white shirt, the former governor smiles in front of TV and reporters who ‘besiege’ him like in the old days: “It’s so nice to come back here and meet so many friends, some of whom were particularly close to me…”

Main menu of the Capitoline tour the ‘after Toti’, or rather the next regional elections, which will be held on October 27 and 28 unless the government postpones the polls with the election day, effectively giving more oxygen to the center-right, still at sea, to find a shared name capable of giving a hard time to the former Keeper of the Seals Andrea Orlando, a strong candidate of the center-left. “We talked about Liguria, about things we have done and that we will have to continue to do”, assures Toti, denying the rumors according to which with Salvini they would have discussed the hypothesis of a judicial ‘shield’ for the governors, on a proposal of the Carroccio. “I think it’s a bit more complex, certainly the system of political guarantees should be reviewed and also the definition of some crimes, but I don’t think it can be done on a per-pound basis”, the outgoing governor cuts short, revealing that the ‘civic’ card would be good for the entire centre-right coalition, including the League: “From what I understood in the first round of meetings there is no preclusion against a civic candidate”, on the other hand, “Liguria is currently governed for approximately 75% by civic mayors supported by the parties”. “That said – he covers his hands – there is not even an exclusion of a party candidacy if there was obviously an agreement”.

Toti’s visit to Salvini, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Transport Edoardo Rixi, was an opportunity “to take stock of the situation in the Liguria region: not only from the point of view of infrastructure and economic development, but also considering the elections that the center-right is determined to win”, writes the party of Via Bellerio in a note claiming the results achieved by the outgoing regional government on the employment and growth front: “In recent years”, Salvini and Toti agreed, “Liguria has made giant steps also in terms of investments and new works: a heritage – the Carroccio points out – that cannot be dispersed”. In the late afternoon Toti sees the blue Gasparri for over an hour. No contact for now with Antonio Tajani, number one of FI. At the end of the meeting with the president of the Forza Italia senators, the former governor specifies that “there was no war and even less any kind of animosity” with Silvio Berlusconi’s party who “defended and supported him with great vigor”. He confirms that the Lega Nord’s Rixi has withdrawn from the fray (“I have great respect for Edoardo but he reiterated his ‘no’ today too”), guarantees that the centre-right is aiming for a shared name as his successor to counter Orlando: “The coalition wants unity, the former Minister of Justice is a left-wing candidate and his will be a coalition unbalanced to the left. Therefore, I believe there is ample space on the right and I believe there are also many doubts for the voters of Iv and Calenda to join those who take part in the street demonstrations”. At the moment the only name officially in the field (after Tajani’s words) is that of Bagnasco, but also in the running are the deputy mayor of Genoa, independent but considered close to the Lega, Pietro Piciocchi, and Ilaria Cavo, deputy of Noi Moderati.