An earthquake. In Tuscany, once a red stronghold, the runoffs in the three provincial capitals where local elections were held are turning into a Caporetto for the left. And, less than a year before the regional council elections, it is launching an increasingly Northern League-led center-right toward a possible (even symbolic) conquest of Florence. That Tuscany, too, had become "contestable" had been evident for some time. However, the successive collapse of three historic strongholds: Pisa, Siena, and Massa (where the center-right had never governed since the war) has disastrously shattered even the last remaining hopes of a possible recovery for a left that has entered the latest elections increasingly divided and quarrelsome. Although very different, the stories of the three provincial capitals lost to the center-left share a common thread: both Andrea Serfogli (Pisa), Bruno Valentini (Siena), and Alessandro Volpi (Massa) failed to rally around their names, if not all, then at least most of the center-left coalition. Thus, already in the first round, alongside the official Democratic Party candidates, other aspiring mayors representing the internal opposition ran, creating fractures that certainly failed to heal in the runoff. On the contrary, thanks to the excellent results achieved in the March general election, the center-right presented itself more united than ever, managing to sweep the field against all previous predictions. In a Tuscany that is shifting decisively to the right, the only exception is the result in Campi Bisenzio, a municipality halfway between Florence and Prato, where Emiliano Fossi (Democratic Party and other civic lists) managed to repel the assault of Maria Serena Quercioli (Lega, Forza Italia, and Brothers of Italy). In Pietrasanta, a municipality in Versilia previously governed by the center-right (mayor Massimo Mallegni resigned to run for Forza Italia in the last general election), former deputy mayor Alberto Giovannetti managed to thwart a comeback attempt by Ettore Neri (Democratic Party). Finally, Pescia is a special case, where Oreste Giurlani—who resigned after being implicated in a judicial investigation and ran again with the support of several civic lists—was re-elected mayor by popular vote with over 60% of the vote, also defeating center-right candidate Francesco Conforti in the runoff.
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