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POPULISTAS, ASD STUN SAVIGLIANE
VICTORIA DI MARZIO, politics
ACQUI BOLLENTE - In a shocking turn of events, left-wing parties Populistas and Alliance des Sociaux-Democrates made massive gains in tonight’s general elections, the first since the Savigliano Portal Event upended domestic politics. The two parties, by overwhelmingly unseating the incumbent coalition of Ligue-Est and Une Nation and winning a combined seventy-one of 150 seats, have ushered in a new, more progressive, era of governance in Savigliane. Populistas party head Alberto Caccini is set to ascend to Prime Minister, likely becoming the first Savigliano PM in twenty-nine years to base his government in Acqui Bollente rather than Villeneuve. Meanwhile, ASD has reached a landmark of their own, as left-wing rising star Danielle Bernard-Ricci is reportedly likely to be named the first-ever female President of the Savigliano Republic.
The election will come as a major shock to the center-right coalition that Alphonse Duhamel’s Ligue-Est and Emmanuel Saint Laurent’s Une Nation parties have worked to maintain despite recent events. Four years ago, such a result would have been unthinkable, as the two Villeneuve-based parties achieved a dominant majority in the previous general election. But a response to the Savigliano Portal Event and the ensuing immigration, economic, and public health crises that was viewed as heartless and overly interested in the bottom line ultimately sank them, and the Bonmaison Scandal - where government funds were illicitly used to subsidize the construction of a new football stadium - was the nail in the coffin. Outfoxed and outflanked by the left, and hemorrhaging support to far-right Piano di Dio, the party that dominated the 2010s just couldn’t handle the political pressures that came with shepherding Savigliane through the worst disaster in national history.
For the long-suffering left, consisting of Populistas, ASD, and likely a number of smaller left-wing parties such as Fronte di Liberazione and the Greens, the election could mark a turning point. Savigliane has historically trended rightwards economically and leftwards socially, and Ligue-Est’s decision to abandon their right-wing base to follow the trend paid off massively - resulting in many decades of business-friendly Villeneuve rule. Yet the Savigliano Portal Event, and the resulting humanitarian crises, seem to have brought the left together and put compassion back into politics. A platform of expanded mental health coverage, liberal immigration rights (especially for post-Event refugees), and worker-friendly economic policies proved massively successful at maintaining the base while attracting disillusioned Une Nation and Ligue-Est voters, and Alberto Caccini has been given a resounding mandate to implement the most progressive policies in a generation of Saviglianos.
This election was also notable for the concerning rise of extremist parties, with the communist Fronte di Liberazione dei Lavoratori (Worker’s Liberation Front), Evangelista Rizzuto’s far-right nationalist Piano di Dios (God’s Plan), and a host of smaller parties all seeing sharp upticks in support. This was largely expected by analysts, who noted that the disruption caused by the Savigliano Portal Event would lead to both extremes, but Fronte winning sixteen of a possible 150 seats, and Piano eleven, still came as a massive shock. The major question facing both coalitions, but especially the right (Fronte have remained relatively civil on the campaign trail, Rizzuto’s Piano...decidedly less so) will be to what extent these parties will have to be accommodated in their post-election governing plans.
In the meantime, it’ll be the left-wing iconoclast Caccini who continues his meteoric ascent to the top. Since the Savigliano Portal Event, Caccini has rapidly risen up the ranks of the Populistas, playing an instrumental role in its transformation from a populist centrist party to a progressive one. While the man who once shoved Interim PM Alphonse Duhamel into a café table still has massive challenges to face - chief among them reconciling the left-wing of the party with the authoritarian centrist one led by Miranda Russo, his victory marks a resounding accomplishment for the Italophone community in Savigliane, who finally have one of their own after decades of Francophone domination. Governance in a fractured Savigliane won’t be easy for the new coalition, which has yet to decide between the Greens, Fronte, and Une Nation as their third coalition partner to reach a majority. But the opportunity to tackle that challenge is still a generationally-defining victory.
Savigliane 2 - 1 Nuovo Serone
Starting Lineup: DuCasse; Lamontagne, Blanco, LeClerc, Baudino; Auvergne, Dutto (Buvalelli 62'), Boisbouvier; Roux (Juvarra 70'), Squarciafichi, Barthelemy
Goals: Boisbouvier 35', Roux 62'
Lineup to face Audioslavia (4-3-3): DuCasse; Lamontagne, Blanco, LeClerc, Sauvageon; Auvergne, Buvalelli, Boisbouvier; Roux, Squarciafichi, Barthelemy
To face Audioslavia, Tlanx-Nulzk has made one change: replacing the attack-inclined Pietra Baudino at right-back with the kamikaze Nicoletta Sauvageon, who plays her club football in nearby Chromatika's second tier. Say what you will about the Galactico, but they don't lack heart.