THE CENTRE-right forces of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi appeared to suffer a significant setback in local elections last weekend when cities such as Bologna, Cagliari, Milan, Turin and Trieste all saw left or centre-left candidates win the first round of mayoral contests.
In both Bologna and Turin, centre-left candidates were elected mayor in the first ballot.
If those overwhelming victories came as only a relative surprise, there was no gainsaying the dimensions of the setback experienced by Mr Berlusconi in his home town of Milan where his People Of Freedom (PDL) party candidate, the outgoing centre-right mayor Letizia Moratti finished almost seven points (41.5 per cent to 48.1 per cent) behind the centre-left candidate Giuliano Pisapia.
Not only is Milan a traditional power base for both Mr Berlusconi and his closest allies, the federalist Northern League, but the prime minister had also campaigned vigorously in Milan, on behalf of both Ms Moratti and himself.
The prime minister, involved in four different trials in Milan, has repeatedly attacked the Milan judiciary over the last two months, leading many commentators to suggest that the mayoral contest had become a “pro-Berlusconi” or “pro-judiciary” referendum.
Inevitably the results were greeted gleefully by senior Democratic party (PD) figures with both party secretary Pierluigi Bersani and newly elected mayor of Turin Piero Fassino speaking of “a wind from the north” that could change the face of Italian politics.
“After a decisive turning point in Italian politics like this, things can never be the same again,” Mr Fassino said. “The centre-left should take inspiration from the north and present a proposal for change that speaks to the entire country.”
Susanna Camusso, leader of leftist confederated trade union CGIL, also argued that this weekend’s results, especially in Milan, represented a serious reverse for Mr Berlusconi. “That person who wanted to turn this vote into a referendum on himself has just created another element in his own crisis. This is not a phase of instability, rather it is the end of an era.”
Inevitably, figures on the centre-right cautioned the left against over-hasty claims of victory, pointing out that in many cases, last weekend’s ballot represented just the first round of a two-round process.
Although Mr Berlusconi made no comment on the results, the PDL president of the Lombardy region Roberto Formigoni appeared to suggest there may be further surprises in store in the key run-off contests in Milan, Naples, Cagliari and Trieste. “I invite everyone to pause before pronouncing Berlusconi dead,” Mr Formigoni said. “People have been saying that Berlusconi is on the way out for 20 years now and yet, there he is, still alive and well.”
Another senior PDL figure, defence minister Ignazio La Russa, struck up the same theme saying that Ms Moratti could yet recover ground to win the all-important Milan contest.
If the PDL on the right did badly last weekend, not all the results went the way of the PD on the left.
One of the most significant results came in Naples where former investigating magistrate Luigi De Magistris, of the Italy of Values (IDV) party, finished second, in front of the PD candidate, and will thus contest the run-off ballot in two weeks time.