Mayoral elections this week saw a poor turnout, but brought more good news for progressive parties following the German election
The surprisingly upbeat autumn for Europe’s centre-left continues. Election wins in Germany and Norway have this week been followed up in the south, where mayoral polls in Italy delivered a string of convincing performances by the Democratic party. Milan, Bologna and Naples all gave strong mandates to progressive candidates; Rome and Turin are likely to follow suit in second round runoffs, which will take place later this month. If all goes well, a nap hand of major cities will be run by centre-left mayors.
The results have been greeted with understandable enthusiasm by Enrico Letta, a former Italian prime minister who returned to lead the Democratic party last March. They prove, he said, that “the right is beatable”, after a period in which the far-right Brothers of Italy party and the nationalist League have consistently topped polls. The particularly poor showing by the League, led by Matteo Salvini, and the brutal ejection of the Five Star Movement mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, has led some commentators to assert that Italian populist movements are finally in decline. But suggestions of a political sea change may be a little premature.