Strong Right-Wing Performance In Local Elections But Lega Referenda Fail

Exit polls from the 12 June local elections in 26 cities across Italy show strong performances from right-wing parties in what is the final major set of elections before the next legislative elections are due in June 2023.

• The official vote count got underway at 1400CET today, but exit polls show that in cities where the right-wing parties (Matteo Salvini's Lega, the Brothers of Italy, and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia) could agree on a joint candidate they are in position to win in the first round. The northern port city of Genoa and Sicily's largest city Palermo both look set to elect centre-right candidates.
• However, in cities where a joint candidate could not be agreed to, e.g. the long-term conservative bastion of Verona, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) could come through the middle to win.
• Nationwide opinion polling continues to show a right-wing coalition as the most likely post-election outcome following next year's vote, with the right-wing nationalist Brothers of Italy looking likely to emerge as the largest party.
• Lega head Matteo Salvini had led the charge for a series of referenda on Italy's byzantine judicial system, but with the record-low 21% turnout well below the 50% threshold required none of these measures passed.