The media magnate is keen on making a political comeback after his acquittal on charges of paying for underage sex
Rome : Italians voted in regional elections seen as a key measure of the fading fortunes of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi and an important test for centre-left Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, reports AFP. Twenty million voters are eligible to elect governors in seven of the country’s 20 regions, as well as the mayors of more than 700 municipalities.
The polls are the first in Italy, which is slowly emerging from recession, since European elections a year ago in which Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD) won with just over 40 percent of the vote. Observers will also be looking closely at the battle on the right between the anti-immigration Northern League, led by rising star Matteo Salvini, and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (Go Italy). The 78-year-old media magnate is keen on making a political comeback after his acquittal on charges of paying for underage sex and a stint of community service for tax fraud.
Thirty elected members of Forza Italia have already announced their departure to join the man once considered Berlusconi’s heir apparent, Raffaele Fitto, who has broken away from the old leader. At present, five of the seven regions holding elections are governed by the left, one is led by the League and another by Forza Italia.
