Italians were voting today in local elections, in a two-day vote that began today and will end tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. These elections pose a challenge for the Prime Minister’s government Giorgia Meloni after seven months in power but also for the new leader of the opposition, Elly Schlein.
Elections are held in 790 Italian municipalities, 17 of them provincial capitals, and more than 6 million voters were summoned.
For towns with more than 15,000 inhabitants, a second round is scheduled in the absence of absolute majorities, to be held on May 28 and 29.
The test is for Meloni, who has been in power for seven months at the head of a right-wing coalition that includes his far-right party.
At stake, between the two rounds, there is a regional capital, Ancona, and 17 provinces, including Brescia, Pisa, Siena, Latina, Treviso and Brindisi.
The right is currently in advantage, since it governs in nine of them, while the center-left governs in six, so the challenge is both for the majority in power and for the opposition.
In turn, it will be the first major electoral test for Schlein, the leader of the Democratic Party (PD)the main formation of the center-left, which in these elections hopes to give a boost to its new general secretary and retake some lost regions in 2018, in particular Siena and Pisa.
