Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: FT: Italian mayoral polls boost Prodi's coalition

Italian mayoral polls boost Prodi's coalition
By Tony Barber in Rome
Published: May 29 2006 16:09 | Last updated: May 29 2006 16:09
Italy's ruling centre-left coalition appeared on Monday to have comfortably 
survived its first electoral test since Romano Prodi, prime minister, 
defeated Silvio Berlusconi, the former premier, in national elections last 
month.
In four big cities where mayoral elections were held on Sunday and Monday, 
Mr Prodi's alliance looked certain to keep control of Naples, Rome and 
Turin, and was only narrowly behind in the centre-right stronghold of Milan.
The centre-left coalition needed a good performance in the elections to 
challenge Mr Berlusconi's assertion that Mr Prodi's hair's-breadth victory 
in the April 9-10 general election was a fluke or the result of fraud.
The new government has a tiny majority in the Senate, parliament's upper 
house, and consists of a multitude of parties that may find it hard to 
strike compromises when hard choices have to be made about controlling 
public expenditure.
However, ministers have begun to prepare the Italian public for unwelcome 
news by stating that the Berlusconi government left the public finances in 
much worse shape than had been anticipated.
Antonio Di Pietro, infrastructure minister, said on Monday: "There is no 
money, and the risk is that many infrastructure projects are destined to be 
put on hold."
Mr Prodi's government has made clear it has little enthusiasm for one of Mr 
Berlusconi's grandest schemes, a controversial plan to build the world's 
longest suspension bridge to link Sicily with the Italian mainland.
On the other hand, businesses and private travellers have long complained of 
under-investment in Italy's congested and antiquated road and rail networks, 
sectors where they would be disappointed to see cutbacks.
Sicilian voters cast ballots on Sunday for the island's governorship, and 
early results suggested Salvatore Cuffaro, the centre-right incumbent, was 
ahead of Rita Borsellino, an anti-mafia centre-left candidate.
On the mainland, the mayoral elections offered another sign of how important 
mayors have become in Italian political life since a 1993 law provided for 
their direct election.
Several politicians of national stature were fighting the contests that 
concluded on Monday, including Walter Veltroni, who is often tipped as a 
possible future centre-left premier and who easily won re-election as mayor 
of Rome.
According to early exit polls by the Piepoli institute for SkyTG24 
television, Mr Veltroni had a lead of 58 to 40 per cent over Gianni 
Alemanno, a former agriculture minister under Mr Berlusconi and a leading 
light of the rightwing National Alliance party.
In Milan, Letizia Moratti, a businesswoman and Mr Berlusconi's former 
education minister, was projected to win 49-51 per cent against 48-50 per 
cent for Bruno Ferrante, the centre-left candidate.
Milan, a centre-right fortress, is the political homeland of Mr Berlusconi's 
Forza Italia party and the populist Northern League, and the city's mayoral 
election was a big test for Mr Berlusconi's ability to hold his alliance 
together.
In Turin, Rocco Buttiglione, the Berlusconi government's culture minister, 
suffered a thumping defeat, with exit polls projecting that Sergio 
Chiamparino, the incumbent centre-left mayor, would win by 60 to 38 per 
cent.
It was a similar if less spectacular story in Naples, where Rosa Russo 
Iervolino, the centre-left mayor, was projected to win 49-52 per cent 
against 40-43 per cent for Franco Malvano, her centre-right opponent.
If candidates fail to win more than 50 per cent, run-off elections will be 
held on June 11-12.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f9841690-ef23-11da-b435-0000779e2340.html
-- 
"Contro la stupiditą, neanche gli dei possono lottare."
[Friedrich von Schiller - "Giovanna d'Arco", Atto III, Scena 6]

 national elections last month.
But the North League wins in the old city of "Lecco" (in english "i lick") 
that,
as the name himself says, is the symbol city of the big northern racist 
party.
Last Updated 17:52
-- 
Stardust®

 party.
Stendingovescion!
:-)
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