Cene, a journey into the Lega stronghold that fell after 36 years: “They even closed the local section”

In the Val Seriana town of Cene, long considered a symbolic stronghold for the League, the party has suffered a major local setback after losing the municipality it first won in 1990. The defeat marks the end of an era in a place that helped define the party’s early territorial power in Bergamo province and now reflects a broader decline in grassroots support. The article describes a town where the League’s former local office has closed, membership has thinned to the point that the minimum number of five registered members needed to open a section is no longer reached, and internal difficulties have made it hard even to decide how to merge the remaining supporters with neighboring branches.

The result was not surprising to local party figures. In the days before the deadline to present candidate lists, the League had not yet even secured a slate, forcing a last-minute effort to field one. Regional councilor Roberto Anelli had intervened to avoid the worse outcome of not standing at all. Outgoing mayor Edilio Moreni, a League member for 25 years, said the group had gradually unraveled and that the party’s local base had failed to offer voters convincing answers. He argued that Cene has always been an unusual League town, where residents judged administrations more on effectiveness than on party loyalty.

Voter turnout was low, with only 55.72% of eligible voters going to the polls. Some ballots were voided or left blank, and the article notes that a recent referendum had briefly raised hopes because of its strong “Yes” result, but that momentum did not carry over to the municipal election. Moreni had already won narrowly in 2020, by just 27 votes, underscoring how fragile the League’s position had become.

The broader political trend has also shifted. In the 2022 national election, the center-right coalition won decisively in Cene, but the League’s vote share had already been cut in half over four years, while Brothers of Italy surged sharply. Local League officials say the issue is not only protest against the party line but also the quality of its local teams and public image.

Among residents, many attributed the outcome less to ideology than to people and personality. Some still fondly recalled former mayor Giorgio Valoti, who died in 2020, saying he stayed close to residents’ daily needs. Moreni and others agreed that voters wanted change rather than another term under the same leadership.

The article closes by noting that Palazzago has now become the League’s longest-serving stronghold in the area, though even there local leaders admit that membership is weak and the party symbol has lost much of its former appeal.