After having supported
Giancarlo Galan (
The People of Freedom, PdL) for ten years as President of Veneto,
Liga Veneta–
Lega Nord (that received 28.4% of the vote in the
2009 European Parliament election in
Veneto compared to the 29.3% of the PdL), soon reclaimed the post of President for one of itself, with
Luca Zaia (Minister of Agriculture in
Berlusconi IV Cabinet) or
Flavio Tosi (Mayor of
Verona and most popular mayor of Italy) as likeliest choices. Since the early days Zaia was the strongest candidate. According to an opinion poll, 72% of Venetian voters liked him and 67% considered him practised (48 and 42% were the scores of Galan, largely behind also of Tosi), a 49% would back him as President, while only 37% would back Galan. Moreover, centre-right voters preferred Zaia to Galan by an 8-point margin (49.3% to 41.2%). Differently from the incumbent president, Zaia was popular among the young and non-autonomous workers, who generally back the left. Galan and the regional section of the PdL (whose leader is
Silvio Berlusconi) disagreed and wanted a fourth term for Galan, who was first elected in
1995. At some point a three-way race in Veneto between Galan, Zaia and a candidate of the
Democratic Party (PD) seemed possible, but neither Berlusconi nor
Umberto Bossi, federal secretary of Lega Nord, liked the idea. In December 2009 the national committee of
The People of Freedom (PdL) determined that it would have supported a Lega Nord member in Veneto. Subsequently the National Council (where "national" means "Venetian") of Liga Veneta nominated Zaia for President. Tosi, who as president of Liga Veneta presided the Council, tried until the last minute to be the candidate and some councillors opted for
Franco Manzato instead. However, as a strong majority backed Zaia (including the party's secretary
Gian Paolo Gobbo), Zaia was voted unanimously by the Council, including Tosi. The Venetian PdL is afraid that Liga Veneta, headed by Zaia, will dominate regional politics for many years to come, similarly to what the
South Tyrolean People's Party has done in
South Tyrol. According to another opinion poll, in the forthcoming election, with Zaia candidate, the PdL would be reduced to a mere 23% with the League at 35% and Zaia would beat Galan also in a three-way race. Galan, who has seldom hinted the idea of forming a Venetist party of his own, was rumored as independent candidate supported by the
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC) and, less likely, by the opposition Democratic Party. However Galan ruled out the idea of running against his party and Zaia, opening the way for a bid by
Antonio De Poli, UDC regional leader. The UDC refused to join forces with the centre-left, leaving the PD to choose between
Laura Puppato, Mayor of
Montebelluna, who had expressed her interest for the race and
Giuseppe Bortolussi, respected leader of the
Mestre section of
Confartigianato. The PD eventually chose Bortolussi, who beat Puppato by 39 votes to 29 in the regional board of the party. ==Parties and candidates==