ROME, May 25 - Projections on Monday indicated that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition won the mayoral contest in Venice, preserving control of the highest-profile city contested in a wider round of local elections held across Italy.
Voting took place in more than 600 towns and cities, marking the first electoral assessment for the government since a bruising defeat in a justice referendum in March. That referendum result was described as a setback for Meloni and represented what has been characterized as her most significant reversal since taking office in 2022.
Venice has been under right-wing municipal leadership for the past decade, and the campaign here unfolded amid controversy in recent weeks over Russia's presence at the Biennale Art Festival. Opinion polls published earlier this month had indicated a lead for the centre-left in the Venetian contest.
Contrary to those polls, projections showed centre-right candidate Simone Venturini winning nearly 51% of the vote, with his nearest rival at about 39%. Venturini's share exceeded the threshold that would have forced a runoff, making a second round unnecessary in the city.
Polling firm Youtrend declared the result for Venturini, saying the margin of his lead removed any remaining doubt about the outcome.
"(Opposition) turned up in Venice convinced they could push the narrative that Meloni was finished, that the centre-right was in crisis. Then Italians went to the polls and those expectations ran up against reality," said Giovanni Donzelli, a senior lawmaker with Meloni's Brothers of Italy party.
The municipal elections were among the final local ballots before the general elections scheduled for next year. Observers noted the two main national blocs are increasingly seen as neck-and-neck in a contest that will influence the balance of power going into 2027.
Alongside Venice, several other city contests delivered notable results. In Salerno, on the Amalfi Coast in southern Campania, Vincenzo De Luca was returned to office for a fifth term; De Luca has previously served 10 years as regional governor in a centre-left coalition. In the Sicilian city of Messina, former Mayor Federico Basile, who is not aligned with either of the main national coalitions, secured another term.
The centre-right also performed strongly in Reggio Calabria, where it largely prevailed after a period of left-wing local rule that had lasted since 2014.
These local outcomes, taken together, offer a mixed picture for both national blocs as they head toward the next general election cycle.