Venice chooses Giorgio Orsoni for its new mayor.

After the endless overdose of campaigning that has become the hallmark of any election, we are delighted to announce we have a winner. Or rather, some winners. Although the Lega Nord party did very well in a number of regions (including the Veneto) that held elections this weekend, it was center-left Democratic Party candidate and attorney Giorgio Orsoni who cruised to a comfortable victory over the center-right Roberto Brunetta to become the new mayor-elect of Venice. He won with 51.03% of the vote.

In fact, Lega Nord candidate for governor of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia had a very strong showing, winning with 60.2% of the vote — even though this popularity wasn’t enough to propel Brunetta, Zaia’s choice for Venice mayor, to a win.

I have a friend who has worked for Orsoni for almost thirty years; she thinks the world of him. What he can accomplish in the midst of a convoluted government with tanti interessi (many “interests”) no one yet knows. A little of that winning smile combined with an attorney temperament, it seems to me, might go a long way.

Sarà da vedere, we shall see!