The governing centre-right coalition was victorious in local elections, confirming its majority in the country as the centre-left mulls possible alliances ahead of the European elections.

After the first round on 14 and 15 May, the ballots held on Sunday and Monday confirmed the victory of centre-right parties in Italian municipalities. The results of the second round in Sicily and Sardinia, which will be held on 11 and 12 June in 167 municipalities, are still awaited.

The polls closed on Monday at 3pm with a turnout of 49.64%, down from 58.9% in the first round. There were 41 municipalities called to vote for the second round and 1,340,688 voters involved.

“The centre-right wins these local elections and confirms its consensus among the Italians, its entrenchment, its strength”, commented Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR).

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also exulted: “The centre-right wins throughout Italy. An extraordinary result that strengthens the government”. Silvio Berlusconi’s party (Forza Italia/EPP) “is confirmed as central in the Italian political framework, from North to South”, Tajani added.

The outcome of the ballots confirms the centre-right’s victory in nine provincial capitals, three of which (Latina, Ancona, Brindisi) were ‘stolen’ from the centre-left, which instead won in three provincial capitals, one of which (Vicenza) was previously governed by the centre-right.

“There’s no denying it, a very good Schlein effect”, ironically said Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, referring to the attractive effect many left-wing voters expected from the new Democratic Party (PD/S&D) secretary Elly Schlein.

Action (Renew) leader Carlo Calenda commented sceptically: “The administrative elections confirm that there is a right-wing trend throughout the country (…) The data is clear: you cannot win by opposing right-wing sovereignty with left-wing populism and the 5 Star Movement.”

Schlein summoned the PD secretariat immediately after the polls closed while the count was still in progress. After about two hours of meeting, she admitted the “black defeat” of the centre-left.

“The wind in favour of the right is still strong and is still there. We knew it would be difficult, it takes time to build a winning centre-left”, Schlein said.

“It is clear that alone you cannot win. We have to rebuild an alternative camp that credibly contends with the right for victory. But the responsibility to build this camp does not only concern the PD,” she added, throwing the ball to the other centre-left parties.

(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)

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