Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Vaccine-Skeptic Outsider Riccardo Szumski Clears Threshold, Wins Two Seats in Veneto Council

A low-budget, hyperlocal campaign turned disillusioned voters into the only non-coalition list to cross the regional bar.

Overview

  • Resistere Veneto finished around 5.1% in the regional vote, securing two seats in the Veneto Regional Council including Szumski.
  • The presidency was won by League candidate Alberto Stefani, with Szumski’s slate the only one outside the major coalitions to convert votes into seats.
  • Szumski posted striking local results, taking about 43% in his hometown of Santa Lucia di Piave and over 10% across the Treviso constituency.
  • A 73-year-old physician removed from the medical register for his vaccine positions, he identifies as “free vax” and has appealed the sanction while continuing to practice.
  • His bid was built on 30,000 collected signatures, small community meetings, volunteer funding, and symbolic gestures such as a Venice pilgrimage instead of a closing rally.