(see related stories on local elections)
Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly
Schlein said Tuesday that the round of local elections held in
hundreds of Italian municipalities on Sunday and Monday showed
that the opposition, centre-left party is in "excellent health".
Centre-right coalitions won four of the 13 provincial capitals
up for grabs, Imperia, Sondrio, Treviso and Latina, while two,
Teramo and Brescia, went to the centre left.
The other seven, Ancona, Brindisi, Terni, Vicenza, Massa, Pisa
and Siena, will have runoff votes in two weeks' time after none
of the candidates managed to win over 50% of the ballots cast in
the first round.
"We won in the first round in Brescia and Teramo, two important
cities," Schlein told a news conference at the PD's headquarters
in Rome.
"In Brescia we won with moderate allies, in Teramo with the
5-Star Movement.
"We are very satisfied with the outcome of the first round of
the local elections.
"We are looking to the second round with great optimism" added
the 38-year-old, who was elected the PD's first woman leader in
February after the party fared badly at last year's general
election won by Premier Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition.
"We got back up in this round of elections. We are moving
forward with momentum.
"We are convinced that we can win in the cities (holding
runoffs) in two week's time.
"The right is running out of steam
"We saw so much enthusiasm during the election campaign -
there's a new hope".
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