The center-left coalitions of Italy they won in important cities such as Rome or Turin in the ballot for the municipal elections held this Sunday.
In the first round, the victories had already been awarded in three other key cities: Milan, Bologna and Naples, as well as in most of the provincial capitals such as Caserta, Cosenza, Isernia, Latina, Savona and Varese. The center-right retained its stronghold of Trieste, where the current right-wing mayor will continue Roberto Dipiazza.
In the capital Roberto Gualtieri reached 60.1% of the votes against the center-right Enrico Michetti (39.9%), while in Turin the center-left candidate Stefano Lo Russo He won with 59.2% over Paolo Damilano (40.8%).
In total, the center-left conquered 8 of the 10 cities that were put into play this Sunday. The first shift to renew the mayoralties of 65 cities was held on October 3 and 4.
Gualtieri inherits the power of the first Roman mayor
After his triumph, the elected mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, promised a new era for his followers. “A work of extraordinary intensity is now beginning to promote Rome and make it work better, so that it grows and becomes a more inclusive city and champion of the ecological transition,” he said.
The management of Rome has always been at the center of political tension. The outgoing mayor, Virginia Raggi, of the Five Star Movement (M5S), has been the last to pay the price of ruling it since 2016. She was the first woman to hold the position in its entire history.
The Italian capital faces a difficult financial situation and some of its basic services, such as garbage collection. Gualtieri, 55, has been Minister of Economy in the second Government of Giuseppe Conte and since his fall, in February 2021, he served as a deputy.
His rival was right-wing Enrico Michetti, who became known for some racist and Holocaust comments, such as when he claimed that Shoah victims receive more attention for being ‘bank owners’..
How the Italian political landscape turned out for 2023
Italy will hold general elections in 2023 in a country where all parties with parliamentary representation, with the exception of the far-right Brothers of Italy, form a government coalition in the hands of Mario Draghi.
Despite the fact that the advance of the center-left has been very significant, experts are cautious in making projections. The reason is simple: more than half of the electorate stayed home this Sunday. In this second round, 41.86% of the register voted, compared to 50.12% in the first round, one of the lowest figures in recent history.
However, the great winner was the Democratic Party (PD), whose leader Enrico Letta described the results as a “triumphant victory” and opted to continue with his strategy of “broad coalitions” that defeat the right.
The conservative coalition attributed their disaster to low participation and alluded to a supposed “crisis of democracy” because, in their opinion, voters do not believe in voting as a form of social change due to the “palace games” of the politics
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