2025 Regional Elections: Stefani, Fico, and Decaro over 60%. Clear victories, plummeting turnout, and regions retained by the outgoing coalitions.

The regional elections at the end of autumn 2025 mark a triple confirmation: the center-right keeps the Veneto, while the center-left dominates in Campania and Puglia, where it recorded very wide margins of victory. The count is not yet complete, but the results now appear consolidated and paint a clear political picture: the three regions remain aligned with the parties that previously governed them.

At the same time, however, there is growing alarm over the historic collapse in turnout, which dropped by anywhere between 10 and 16 points compared to 2020: a clear sign of the detachment between voters and politicians in a round that involved around 11,5 million citizens.

Veneto: The End of the Zaia Era and the Rise of Stefani

In Veneto, the decline of Luca Zaia, after three terms in office, opens the way to a new face, but one already rooted in local politics: Alberto Stefani, born in 1992. The Northern League candidate gets the 61,3%, with the coalition at 63%. 
Giovanni Manildo, center-left, stopped at around 30%, while Riccardo Szumski collected over 6%.

A solid, broad result, almost carved in stone in the expectations of the eve. Stefani thus becomes the youngest regional president in Italy, symbol of a generational change that does not undermine the political system, but renews it.

His campaign, constructed with reassuring tones and programmatic continuity, promises special attention to social issues, with greater attention to the frailties of the elderly and young, and announces the strengthening of regional healthcare and a strong commitment to simplifying bureaucracy, involving businesses and the third sector.

In his first statements, he thanked "all Venetians, even those who didn't vote for me" and promised immediate commitment to social priorities.

For Giorgia Meloni, the Venetian victory is "the result of the coalition's hard work and credibility."

Among the parties, the League returns to being the leading regional force (36%), ahead of the Brothers of Italy (18,8%).

The only gloomy fact is the turnout: only the 44,6% which demonstrates a politically stable, but civically tired Veneto.

Campania: Fico's Campania and the turning point of the broad field

To the south, Campania responds with an equally clear voice, but of a different color.
Roberto Fico, a historic face of the 5 Star Movement and a figure respected even beyond the confines of his party, leads the progressive coalition and conquers almost 60% of the votes. Edmondo Cirielli, the center-right candidate, remained stuck at around 36%.

Giuseppe Conte couldn't resist the jab: "They're not jumping around anymore. We won by listening to people's needs."

Elly Schlein flies to Naples to embrace the new governor and reiterates a strategic vision: "Together we win. There's an alternative, and it starts in the South."

The list data confirms the plural nature of the coalition: a mix of PD, M5S, civic groups and reformist forces that works, as it exceeds 59% and suggests that the "broad field" laboratory can really work.

But here too the shadow is the same: the turnout.
In Campania it stops at 44,05%, more than eleven points less than in 2020.

Puglia: Antonio Decaro's long-term momentum and victory over 66%

Then there is Puglia, where the result takes on the contours of popular enthusiasm.
The victory of Antonio DeCaro, former mayor of Bari, is almost unanimous: 66,9%.
A figure that speaks to an exceptional local roots, already demonstrated in the 2024 European elections with a record number of votes.

Puglia, a politically complex and often contested region, leaves no room for doubt this time: the center-left has organized itself into a broad and cohesive coalition, and is outperforming the center-right by a margin unprecedented in the region's history.

Decaro seems to embody a solid administrative figure, and he immediately reiterates: "I'm celebrating today. Starting tomorrow, I'll work to earn this trust."

The lists offer different interpretations: the PD remains the leading regional party (25–29%), the M5S maintains a solid role, but it is above all the civic lists that are driving the coalition.
In the center-right, Forza Italia overtook the League, marking a further shift in the national balance of power.

Here the turnout is the lowest in Italy: 41,83%.
This fact raises profound questions about the relationship between citizens and institutions.

A long autumn, a country in balance, a fleeing electorate

This regional round concludes months of consultations in several Italian regions, returning a coherent map: the outgoing administrations hold everywhere.
As Maurizio Gasparri notes, the center-right closes the overall score at "4 to 3," including the Marche and Aosta Valley regions, while the progressives, according to Marco Furfaro, have a different interpretation: "Decaro and Fico demonstrate what happens when you choose the path of unity."

However, the most transversal data remains one: turnout drops below 45% in all three regionsA phenomenon that cuts across territories and political parties, and raises profound questions about the relationship between citizens and institutions.

Three different stories, three confirmations that reassure their respective sides, but above each result hovers a silent message, that of the many who did not vote.
Politics will have to look to them – perhaps more than to the winners – in the coming months.