Salvini’s coalition was poised to win the governorships in three regions, shifting a local power balance further to the right nationally, with at least 14 of 20 Italian regions now ruled by its representatives, with a possible 15th to be added when the results are counted on Tuesday in the Valle d’Aosta region.
The coalition appeared to have ousted the leftist leadership in the Marche region, with Francesco Acquaroli, of the far-right Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, set to become the region’s leader.
It right also triumphed in its usual strongholds of Veneto and Liguria.
However, the centre-right coalition failed to snatch Tuscany, which has been a leftwing stronghold since World War II and where the close-fought battle was seen as decisive for the country and Salvini’s potential political comeback.
A win in Tuscany would have bolstered the right’s claim that the uneasy coalition was politically weak, and that Italy’s president should bring forward the 2023 national election.
The League’s candidate for Tuscany was Susanna Ceccardi, a 33-year-old rising star of the party, who promoted Salvini’s “Italians first” mantra.
Voters went instead for Eugenio Giani, a soft-spoken centre-leftist known for his long interest in social issues and with deep roots in the region.
“This is a vote of Tuscans for Tuscany,” Giani said in televised remarks on Monday evening.
“We built an extraordinary relationship with the mayors; this is the Tuscan model built over the years. People know it here.”
Voters in seven Italian regions elected governors and mayors in about 1000 cities on Sunday and Monday, with just under 54 per cent of eligible citizens turning out despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Ballots were also cast nationwide for a referendum on cutting parliament numbers, which passed easily.
