By Angelo Amante
ROME (Reuters) -Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s candidate scored a victory in the central region of Marche, vote projections showed on Monday, offering a fresh boost to her nearly three-year-old right-wing government.
Incumbent regional governor Francesco Acquaroli, a member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, was seen at over 50% of the vote while centre-left rival Matteo Ricci was on around 45%, projections showed as counting was still ongoing.
Polling company Youtrend “called” the result for Acquaroli, saying the size of his lead meant the outcome was no longer in doubt.
The Marche contest was the first in a series of regional votes that will test Meloni’s popularity at the local and national level ahead of the next general election due in 2027.
“Voters have rewarded someone who has worked tirelessly for his region and its citizens over the years. I am sure he will continue his commitment with the same passion and determination,” Meloni wrote on social media platform X.
Turnout in Marche was around 50%, down from 59.7% in the previous regional election. Brothers of Italy was seen coming out as the single most popular party with around 24% of the vote, with the main opposition Democratic Party on roughly 20%.
The rightist bloc – comprising Brothers of Italy, the League, and Forza Italia – governs 14 of Italy’s 20 regions.
The right has maintained a solid lead in national opinion polls over the past three years, with Meloni’s Brothers of Italy comfortably the most popular group in the country.
Since winning power in 2022, Meloni has won most of the regional votes contested, though the centre-left opposition snatched two in 2024, Umbria in central Italy, and on the island of Sardinia.
The next regional votes are scheduled in the southern Calabria and central Tuscany regions early next month, offering further clues to the national mood.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones)
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