A surprising electoral setback for Premier Silvio Berlusconi's party in its Milan stronghold will not affect the party leadership, national coordinator Denis Verdini told a press conference in Rome Tuesday.
Berlusconi staked a lot of his credibility and vote-catching charisma on the Milan mayoral race for his People of Freedom (PdL) party, turning the contest into a vote on his policies and against the Milan prosecutors he says are hounding him, pundits said.
Berlusconi staked a lot of his credibility and vote-catching charisma on the Milan mayoral race for his People of Freedom (PdL) party, turning the contest into a vote on his policies and against the Milan prosecutors he says are hounding him, pundits said.
Regularly upstaging PdL candidate Letizia Moratti, the incumbent, he called the prosecutors a "cancer on democracy" and questioned the personal hygiene of his centre-left opponents.
Experts said the strategy backfired for the first time since the media magnate entered politics in 1994, with Moratti, expected by many to keep the city in the first ballot, instead lagging by six points to centre-left Democratic Party (PD) rival Giuliano Pisapia going into the run-off in two weeks' time.
Italian dailies hailed the result as "a surprise" (Corriere della Sera), "a defeat for Berlusconi" (La Repubblica) and "a turning point" (Il Messaggero), amid claims from PD leader Pier Luigi Bersani that "we have turned the tide against Berlusconi in the North".
Reporters waited in vain for a response Tuesday from the premier, who has been embroiled in corruption, fraud and sex trials and whose share of the Milan vote was halved in the Sunday-Monday ballot.
Speaking for him, Verdini would only say that "there will not be consequences on the (party) leadership".
Asked if he himself would feel duty-bound to resign if Milan were to fall to the Left for the first time in more than 20 years, Verdini replied "certainly not".
The PD was also basking in the success of its candidate for Turin mayor, ex-minister Piero Fassino, who swept into office in the first round, and its Bologna candidate, Virginio Merola, who squeaked home.
It did not appear too upset about its third-place finish in garbage-strewn Naples and vowed to swing its support behind a former anti-mafia prosecutor, Luigi de Magistris, who was some 11 points behind the Pdl's Giovanni Lettieri going into the run-off. According to most newspapers, the leader of the PdL's key ally the Northern League, Umberto Bossi, was "livid" after the Milan result.
"What will Bossi do to the government should Milan fall," asked political commentator James Walston of the American University in Rome, amid speculation there might be a reshuffle or even more dramatic consequences.
Experts said the strategy backfired for the first time since the media magnate entered politics in 1994, with Moratti, expected by many to keep the city in the first ballot, instead lagging by six points to centre-left Democratic Party (PD) rival Giuliano Pisapia going into the run-off in two weeks' time.
Italian dailies hailed the result as "a surprise" (Corriere della Sera), "a defeat for Berlusconi" (La Repubblica) and "a turning point" (Il Messaggero), amid claims from PD leader Pier Luigi Bersani that "we have turned the tide against Berlusconi in the North".
Reporters waited in vain for a response Tuesday from the premier, who has been embroiled in corruption, fraud and sex trials and whose share of the Milan vote was halved in the Sunday-Monday ballot.
Speaking for him, Verdini would only say that "there will not be consequences on the (party) leadership".
Asked if he himself would feel duty-bound to resign if Milan were to fall to the Left for the first time in more than 20 years, Verdini replied "certainly not".
The PD was also basking in the success of its candidate for Turin mayor, ex-minister Piero Fassino, who swept into office in the first round, and its Bologna candidate, Virginio Merola, who squeaked home.
It did not appear too upset about its third-place finish in garbage-strewn Naples and vowed to swing its support behind a former anti-mafia prosecutor, Luigi de Magistris, who was some 11 points behind the Pdl's Giovanni Lettieri going into the run-off. According to most newspapers, the leader of the PdL's key ally the Northern League, Umberto Bossi, was "livid" after the Milan result.
"What will Bossi do to the government should Milan fall," asked political commentator James Walston of the American University in Rome, amid speculation there might be a reshuffle or even more dramatic consequences.
0 commenti
Post a Comment