Rome, Nov. 19, (dpa/GNA) – Italy’s right-wing alliance, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has suffered a setback in two regional elections after just over two years in office.
Results declared on Tuesday show that in both Emilia-Romagna and Umbria, the centre-left candidates won the regional elections.
In the traditionally left-leaning region of Emilia-Romagna around Bologna, Michele De Pascale won a clear victory with 56.7% of the vote.
In the central Italian region of Umbria, the race initially appeared to be a close contest between right-wing incumbent Donatella Tesei and her center-left opponent, Stefania Proietti. However, Proietti ultimately won with 51.1% of the vote.
Since October 2022, Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party has been governing Italy in coalition with Matteo Salvini’s right-wing populist League party and the conservative Forza Italia party.
Following these latest regional elections, seven of Italy’s 20 regions now have centre-left governments while right-wing alliances are in power in 13 regions.
In the latest national opinion polls, Meloni’s party remains stable in first place with 29.5%. It is followed by the Social Democrats of opposition leader Elly Schlein with just under 23% and Meloni’s coalition partner Forza Italia with just over 11%.
GNA