Centre right triumphs in local-election run-offs

(ANSA) - Rome, June 26 - A centre-right bloc made up of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI), the anti-migrant Northern League (LN) and the rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party was the big winner of local-election run-offs in many Italian towns and cities on Sunday. The centre right won most of the contests in the 22 provincial capitals, with the centre-left losing strongholds such as Genoa and Pistoia. The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) was absent from most run-offs after performing badly in the first round.
    Federico Pizzarotti, a former M5S member, was re-elected mayor of Parma. The centre-left defeats led to criticism of ex-premier Matteo Renzi, leader of the ruling Democratic Party.
    "Things could have gone better but general elections are a different story," Renzi said. Northern League leader Matteo Salvini said that the way the centre right parties joined forces for the victories in the local elections should be used at the national level. "I can't wait to export the model from these local elections to the national level," he told a press conference Monday. "If, after decades, they ask us to govern in Genova, Pistoia or Sesto San Giovanni, it means that we can govern the country too - with clear ideas and without hesitations about whether or not to be with Renzi". Salvini also said the lesson was that there should be "no more votes that save the government" of the PD Premier Paolo Gentiloni.