In a wave of electoral triumphs, the Center-Left emerged victorious in 8 out of the 10 cities in Italy this week, with populist and right-wing parties suffering a major setback nationwide.
The center-left coalition declared victory over the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement party in the cities of Rome and Turin and did the same thing over the Center-Right in cities like Savona, Cosenza, and Isernia.
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Politicians on the right have been quick to make excuses for their poor showing, with far-right senator Matteo Salvini of the Lega Nord exclaiming that if one is "elected by a minority of a minority, it is a problem not for the [opposition] party, but for democracy."
Brothers of Italy party leader Giorgia Meloni blamed the outcome on the delay in choosing candidates, not on the candidates themselves.
In the capital city of Rome, former member of European Parliament Roberto Gualtieri won with a strong 60% of the vote, with center-right candidate Enrico Michetti – who had had his campaign derailed by accusations of antisemitism and issued his apologies in the week prior to the elections – trailing behind with a mere 39.85%.
"Today there begins an extraordinary effort to relaunch Rome and to make it grow, to make it more inclusive and to make it work," said a victorious Gualtieri, a member of the Democratic Party, in the wake of the votes.
Michetti faced criticism due to comments he had made in an article last year, arguing that the Holocaust receives more attention than other mass murders because "the Jews control banks and a lobby capable of deciding the fate of the planet."
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