Center-left wins in Rome, elsewhere in blow to Italy's right

Italy's center-left forces have won big in Rome and most other significant mayoral races, dealing a heavy blow to right-wing parties that have been hoping to capture the premiership in the next national election

ROME -- Italy’s center-left forces won big in Rome, Turin and several other mayoral runoffs on Monday, dealing embarrassing defeats to the anti-migrant and far-right parties that are hoping to capture Italy's premiership in the next national election.

Roberto Gualtieri from Italy's Democratic Party trounced a challenger who had been selected by the Brothers of Italy, a party with neo-fascist roots, to win Rome’s City Hall, taking some 60% of the vote, with nearly all the ballots counted.

Democratic Party leader Enrico Letta predicted that the center-left wins over right-wing alliances will dampen any push by conservative forces, which include the anti-migrant League party, to hold an early national election. That enhances Premier Mario Draghi's prospects of continuing in office until Parliament's term expires in 2023.

Letta also interpreted the Democratic Party-anchored winning alliances as resounding affirmation of Draghi's tough anti-pandemic policies. Those include a recently implemented Green Pass decree that workers must be vaccinated, recently recovered from COVID-19 or test negative for the virus to enter their workplaces. The rule has sparked protests, including violence, mainly by right-wing opponents.