Campania. La lunga corsa del governatore sceriffo

The 2020 regional elections proved national, given the importance the results had for the balance of power in government and the visibility gained by local leaders. Handling of the emergency gave the Regional Presidents the chance to redefine areas of intervention and to assume responsibility for people’s safety at local level. In Campania, Vincenzo De Luca achieved this objective, transforming his government leadership into popular leadership via an unusual process of viralization of his local communications at national level. This article analyses what happened in Campania across four dimensions: the institutional political context, where we see the latest monocratic twist in the regional system; the electoral campaign, dominated by the outgoing governor versus a fragmented and weakened political offer; the centre-periphery conflict, including the “battle of the ordinances” which colored overall management of the entire emergency; the election results, which refuel regional competition after the convincing victory of the Sheriff governor