The centre right was set to win regional elections in Lazio and Lombardy handily Monday according to exit polls.
An exit poll for Rai state broadcaster confirmed predictions that centre right candidate and former Red Cross chief Francesco Rocca is set to win Lazio in regional elections easily.
Rocca has a range of 50.5%-54.5% in the poll by the Consorzio Opinio Italia.
He is followed by centre left candidate and former health councillor Alessio D’Amato on 30%-34%, and in third place the left-leaning and populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) candidate, Donatella Bianchi, on 10.5%-14.5%.
Projections confirmed the exit poll with Rocca at 52.1% and D’Amato on 34.7%.
The second exit poll said centre right candidate and incumbent governor Attilio Fontana is set to win Lombardy just as easily.
Fontana was given a range of 49.5%-53.5% by the Consorzio Opinio Italia polling agency.
Francesco Majorino of the combined centre left and 5-Star Movement (M5S) was set to get 33%-37% while the third pole’s Letizia Moratti was given 9.5%-13.5%.
Thi was confirmed by the projection which gave Fontana 54.4% ahead of Majorino on 33.6% and Moratti on 10.1%.
Lazio and Lombardy, Italy’s two most populous regions had the centre right candidates as hot favourites in both races due to continuing splits on the centre left – the main reason Premier Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing alliance came to power in the September 25 general election. In September, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) failed to form an alliance either with the left-leaning and formerly populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) or the centrist ‘third pole’ of Italia Viva (IV) and Azione (Az), leaving the field open to Meloni’s coalition of her rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI), former anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini’s rightwing League party, and three-time former premier Silvio Berluscioni’s centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party. Things were a bit better for the centre left in these two regional votes as the PD managed to team up with the M5S in Lombardy and with IV-Az in Lazio, but in neither region were the three centre-left parties running together, making the centre-right alliance of FdI, League and FI again by far the bookies’ favoutites to win the regional government and the governerships. In Lazio former Red Cross chief Rocca led the centre right against the centre left’s D’Amato, former PD health councillor, who had been bidding to extend the PD’s 10-year tenure of power in the region around Rome in a coalition backed by the PD and the third pole. In Lombardy long-time incumbent governor Fontana of the League wanted to extend the decades-long rightwing lock on power in the region around Milan, against PD candidate and former Milan city social policy councillor Majorino, who was backed by the PD and the M5S.Voters were slow to the polls, which opened at seven am Sunday and close at three pm Monday, and turnout was about half last time’s turnout at the same time Monday afternoon.The exit polls are expected to be confirmed by projections and actual results.
In the meantime Salvini, the League leader, hailed the victories saying “thank you Lombardy, thank you Lazio”.
FI No 2 and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said “it’s a vote of confidence in the government”.
Meloni said the regional election wins in Lazio and Lombardy consolidate the centre right and boost the government.
“Congratulations to Francesco Rocca and Attilio Fontana for their clear victory in these regional elections, sure that both will give their best to honour the vote and the mandate received from the citizens of Lazio and Lombardy,” she said.
“An important and significant result that consolidates the unity of the centre-right and strengthens the work of the government.”
Fontana said after winning the regional elections Monday that the result showed the citizens of Lombardy had understood his government’s work over the past few years.
“The first feeling is joy for the people of Lombardy who have understood our work,” said outgoing Lombardy Governor Fontana, who is close to re-election according to exit polls and whose election looks a certainty according to projections.
A trend seen in last year’s general election was projected to continue in the Lombardy regional election Monday with the booming rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party of Premier Meloni set to get 25.6% of the vote against 16%” of the League, which had long been the dominant force in the region, according to a Rai projection.