Florence mayor Matteo Renzi's victory boosts left's election hopes

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/09/florence-mayor-matteo-renzi-victory-italy-democratic

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Florence's mayor, Matteo Renzi, won a primary vote to become leader of Italy's centre-left Democratic party (PD), preliminary results showed, giving him influence over the fragile coalition government and the timing of the next election.

The 38-year-old's challenge will be to reconcile deep party divisions that undermined what polls suggested would be a certain victory in the February national election, leaving the bloc without control of both houses of parliament. Data from two-thirds of the 9,000 polling booths showed Renzi took 68% of the vote in a three-way race to lead the largest party in parliament and in the ruling coalition.

About 2.5 million people cast a primary ballot, Renzi said, which was far more than expected and a clear sign voters want to renew the party founded six years ago by merging elements of the former communist party and left-leaning centrists.

Renzi will not join the cabinet, but is likely to lead the PD into the next election as its candidate for prime minister. Primary rivals Gianni Cuperlo, a former communist, and the web-savvy Pippo Civati acknowledged Renzi's leadership in their concession speeches.

"This is the end of group of party leaders, not of the left," Renzi told his supporters in a victory speech in Florence, after promising to unify the party. "Now it's up to a new generation, my friends. It's our turn to drive the car."

<strong> </strong>For his charisma and goal to remodel Italy's left, the Florence mayor is sometimes compared to Britain's Tony Blair, but his direct speaking style and media savvy also draw comparisons to the 77-year-old centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi.

With the centre right in disarray after former prime minister Berlusconi's tax-fraud conviction and a subsequent party split, Renzi has the opportunity to recast the PD to attract some disillusioned right-wing voters.

Polls have shown Renzi is popular even among centre-right voters. Lower taxes – a warhorse for Berlusconi for two decades – are a central part of his programme, as are promises to change the electoral law, overhaul labour rules, and eliminate the privileges of the political class.

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