Italy’s coalition partners rally behind Cirielli ahead of key regional election in Campania.
Edmondo Cirielli, the candidate backed by Italy’s right-wing government in the upcoming regional elections in Campania, has pledged to give an extra €100 a month to residents who receive the minimum pension.
In a video post on X on Friday, Cirielli, 61, said the monthly pension top-up would come from regional funds.
The promise was among several election pledges including boosting employment and halving waiting times in the public health service in the southern Italian region.
Oggi alle 17.30 al #Palapartenope di #Napoli siglerò il patto con i #campani. Un impegno solenne e vincolante.
Vi aspetto, a più tardi!#ciriellipresidente #campania #elezioniregionali2025 pic.twitter.com/6TmipuJg5E
— edmondo cirielli (@edmondocirielli) November 14, 2025
If elected, Cirielli vowed that if he had not achieved 50 per cent of his aims after two and a half years – halfway through his mandate – he would resign “with immediate effect”.
Roberto Fico
Cirielli, a senior member of Meloni’s right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party, will face Robero Fico, a member of the left-wing, populist Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S).
Fico, 51, served as president of the Italian chamber of deputies from 2018 to 2022 under former premier and now M5S leader, Giuseppe Conte. He is backed by the M5S with the support of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD).
Both Cirielli and Fico are seeking to replace the outgoing PD governor of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca, 76, who has served two terms over the past decade and cannot seek a third mandate.
Naples rally
Cirielli made his electoral pledges ahead of a major election rally at the Palapartenope stadium in Naples attended by prime minister Giorgia Meloni and deputy premiers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani.
There were scenes of merriment – Tajani and Meloni hopped along to a chorus of “Anyone not jumping is a communist!” – but not before the premier launched a stinging attack against both De Luca and Fico.
Sto in after riguardando Tajani in loop
[@fanpage] https://t.co/A6XQ4ZShR9 pic.twitter.com/vDlsyzIZdQ
— nonleggerlo (@nonleggerlo) November 15, 2025
Telling the crowd to spread the word about Cirielli, Meloni said there was “an alternative to failure, to cronyism, to mockery, to fried fish [festivals] to gain votes, to turncoats, to those who have given up everything just for the seat of power.”
The first attack referred to De Luca whose boasts about his achievements in healthcare were slammed by Meloni as “just a three card trick”.
The fried fish festival jibe referred to a spat with the Campania governor who famously called the prime minister a “bitch”, an incident alluded to again by Meloni during her speech in Naples.
— Crazy Ass Moments in Italian Politics (@CrazyItalianPol) November 14, 2025
The “turncoat” label was reserved for Fico who, Meloni recalled, once described the PD as “the number one threat to the country, and today he’s allied himself with the regional president”.
“I’d like to ask Fico if De Luca’s way of governing is ok, because for years the Movimento 5 Stelle has described it as a clientelist model” – Meloni said – “Were they lying before, or has Fico decided to join the very system they were fighting against?”
Sangiuliano and Boccia
Meloni hailed Campania as a “heritage to be defended” rather than “a problem to be solved”, to applause from the audience which included former culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano in the front row.
Sangiuliano, who resigned as minister last year following a high-profile scandal involving his relationship with his former advisor Maria Rosaria Boccia, recently launched the election slogan ‘Make Naples Great Again’ as he seeks a seat as regional councillor.
Boccia had also been running in the Campania race but pulled out earlier this month after receiving a second notice of investigation following a complaint filed by Sangiuliano.
However, in a surprise twist on Wednesday, Boccia announced that she was back in the race.
Key election
A recent poll predicted Fico would win 53 per cent of the vote in Campania, compared to Cirielli’s 42 per cent, however Meloni insisted that “predictions can be proved wrong”.
Tajani went further, saying he was confident that Cirielli would be Campania’s next governor, while Salvini said he saw a “wide open” race that “can be won.”
With Meloni’s coalition currently governing 14 out of 20 Italian regions, the government is particularly keen to wrest control of Campania from the left.
Since coming to power three years ago, the coalition has won several regional elections and recently celebrated the re-election of governors Francesco Acquaroli in Marche and Roberto Occhiuto in Calabria.
Right-wing candidates also lost to the centre-left last year in Sardinia, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna as well as more recently with the re-election of Eugenio Giani in Tuscany.
The Campania elections will be held on 23-24 November together with regional votes in Veneto, governed by the right-wing Lega, and in the left-controlled Puglia.
Photo Corriere della Sera TV
