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Enlarge this image Protesters wearing Sardines, figurines and banners join the first national rally organized by the Sardine Movement in San Giovanni Square, on Dec. 14, 2019 in Rome. Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis via Getty Images European Union officials will be closely monitoring results of local elections in Italy Sunday that are seen as a bellwether for the fate of the national government. Polls suggest that the far-right populist League Party could win control of a region that has been a leftist bastion for 75 years. The northern region of Emilia-Romagna is home to Parmesan cheese, Prosciutto and luxury car makers. It’s a poster-child for good government and social services. At 5%, unemployment here is half the national average. And yet, polls suggest the incumbent Democratic Party Governor Stefano Bonaccini is running neck and neck with the little-known right-wing candidate Lucia Bergonzoni– for whom the League Party secretary, Matteo Salvini, has been campaigning nonstop. Last Saturday, Salvini came to Maranello – home of Ferrari sports cars – cheered by enthusiastic middle-aged supporters like Silvana Valdinocci. She embraces Salvini’s “Italians-First” slogan and anti-migrant policies. “I’m proud of him, he loves Italians. Those people in power today don’t respect us, they hate Italians. They pass laws against Italians. But Matteo Salvini is fighting for us.” Salvini makes his entrance, wearing a red baseball cap with Ferrari’s prancing horse logo. He moves through the exuberant crowd, shaking hands, pausing for selfies. As he passes close to her, Simona Qualtieri can’t hide her emotion. “Matteo is unique, he’s everything for me,” she says, “even bigger than a rock star!” With the crowd cheering and shouting his name – “Matteo, Matteo!” – over and over, Salvini takes the stage. Flanked by Bergonzoni, Salvini tells the crowd that their regional vote on Sunday will have repercussions on the national political stage. “Our beautiful victory here on Jan. 26 will be historic,”Salvini shouts, “it will totally change this country. With our victory, you will evict the government in Rome and send the Democratic Party packing!” Last September, in a rare political miscalculation, Salvini walked out of the national governing coalition, hoping to trigger early elections. Instead, the Democratic Party took the League’s place in the cabinet. In a bid to return to national power, Salvini mobilized his social media accounts with nonstop promotions of Emilia-Romagna products — tortellini and local wine – all the while pushing his anti-immigrant and anti-European Union themes. Filippo Taddei, professor of International Economics at Johns Hopkins University in Bologna, says Salvini’s nationalist to Italians message is to count only on themselves. “The obvious consequence of all that political discou
