Italy's centre-right wins big in mayoral elections

[webfact]

Italy's centre-right wins big in mayoral elections

By Gavin Jones

 

Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures during the television talk show "Porta a Porta" (Door to Door) in Rome, Italy June 21, 2017. Picture taken June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

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ROME (Reuters) - Italy's centre-right parties were the big winners in mayoral elections on Sunday, partial results showed, in a vote likely to put pressure on the centre-left government ahead of national elections due in less than a year.

 

In the most closely watched contest, the northern port city of Genoa - a traditional left-wing stronghold - seemed certain to pass to the centre-right for the first time in more than 50 years.

 

The candidate backed by the anti-immigrant Northern League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party will get around 54 percent of the vote, compared with 46 percent for the candidate backed by the ruling Democratic Party (PD), according to final projections based on the vote count.

 

The elections are a setback for PD leader and former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who took a back seat in campaigning after seeing his party roiled by internal divisions this year.

 

"The wind is blowing for the centre-right from the north to the centre to the south, this is an extraordinary victory," said Renato Brunetta, the lower house leader of Forza Italia.

 

Around 4.3 million people were eligible to vote in 110 municipalities that were up for grabs after no candidate won more than 50 percent in the June 11 first-round election.

 

Although Sunday's vote was one of the last before the general election, local factors mean it may not provide a clear reflection of parties' national popularity.

 

The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which is Italy's most popular party nationwide according to some opinion polls, performed very badly in the first round and only made the run-off in one of the 25 largest cities.

 

The turnout was also very low, at around 47 percent.

 

PD PROBLEMS

 

Nevertheless, Sunday's result could serve as a call for unity among the centre-right parties, which are in competition at the national level. Their strong showing suggests if the parties can unite under a single leader they would be a force to be reckoned with at the general election.

 

That must be held by May 2018 but the broad coalition backing Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni is fragile and political analysts say an early vote this autumn cannot be ruled out.

 

"We have clearly lost these elections," said the PD's lower house leader Ettore Rosato.

 

Around 10 provincial capitals held by the centre-left going into the elections looked set to pass to the centre-right.

 

Genoa is the latest of a string of recent defeats in the PD's traditional strongholds. Last year it lost Turin, Italy's third-largest city, and the capital Rome, to 5-Star.

 

The partial count on Sunday also put the centre-right ahead in the northern cities of Verona, Como, Piacenza, Monza and Pistoia and in Catanzaro in the south.

 

It also seemed sure to win in the central city of L'Aquila, another recently centre-left stronghold where the centre-left candidate had led after the first round.

 

The PD seemed set to score significant successes in Taranto in the south and Padua in the north.

 

The northern city of Parma went to the incumbent mayor who was elected as 5-Star's first ever mayor in 2012 but ran as an independent after falling out with the movement's leadership.

 

5-Star, which was only founded nine years ago, looked set to add eight mayors to its modest national tally, including a victory in the Tuscan city of Carrara.

 

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Jane Merriman and Andrew Hay)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-26

[boomerangutang]

Anti-immigration is probably the leading issue for Italians, ....understandably so.

[Orton Rd]

Yes parts of Rome look like an African third world graffiti covered slum, horrible.

[bert bloggs]

I used to spend so much time in Rome it was lovely , last time i went much of it looked like a slum with immegrants all over . Farewell to the West you are doomed .

[blazes]

Italexit in no time at all....

[Stargeezr]

What is the famous Italian mafia doing these days, apparently nothing, and the country is going to hell in a hand basket. The ex leader is looking good for an old man.

Geezer

[boomerangutang]

3 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

I used to spend so much time in Rome it was lovely , last time i went much of it looked like a slum with immegrants all over . Farewell to the West you are doomed .

It sounds like Rome has fallen twice in the past 2000 years.

 

When I was in HS in the 1960's, I spent 1 school year at an all-boys boarding school near Rome.  Every weekend, I'd take a bus to the city and walk around.  It was fine.   I don't doubt it's a lot different now, from what some posters are saying.

[Morch]

That's one weird photo. Looks like a ventriloquist dummy.

[RobFord]

What is the famous Italian mafia doing these days, apparently nothing, and the country is going to hell in a hand basket. The ex leader is looking good for an old man.
Geezer

The mafia finds excellent recruits among these refugees for the lowest level jobs.

The douche looks like he's been done over by a mortician.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Khun Han]

3 hours ago, Morch said:

That's one weird photo. Looks like a ventriloquist dummy.

 

Facelifts never look good on elderly people.

[Morch]

1 minute ago, Khun Han said:

 

Facelifts never look good on elderly people.

 

I first read this as "Fascists never look good on elderly people"...

[SheungWan]

Good news that the populist 5-Star Movement has lost momentum. particularly after the French NF failure.