Incumbent Raggi Retains Narrow Lead In Congested Polls For Rome Mayor

Incumbent Mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi from the populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) retains a narrow lead in the latest opinion poll for the Italian capital's municipal election, due to be held no later than June.

• Rome municipal election poll : Raggi (M5S-inc): 26.8 %, Gualtieri (PD): 22.3%, Calenda (A): 19.6%, Aboli (Centre Right Coalition): 18.9 %. IZI, Feb 2021.
• The poll puts former Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri from the centre-left Democratic Party in second place with 22.3% support, despite the fact he has not yet announced whether he will seek to stand as the candidate for the centre-left.
• In the vote, if no candidate receives a majority (a scenario that appears likely based on current polls), the two candidates with the highest number of votes will go into a run-off election two weeks after the first vote. Given that less than 10% separates Raggi in first place from the prospective candidate of the centre-right, former sports administrator Andrea Aboli, in fourth place.
• The election of Raggi as mayor in 2016 was a major coup for 5-Star, and presaged the major gains the party would make in the 2018 general election. Similarly, if Rome is lost in 2021 could be a confirmation that the power of the anti-establishment party is on the wane, as indicated in nationwide opinion polls.