- Title: ITALY: POLITICS - Opposition leader Walter Veltroni quits after poll defeat
- Date: 18th February 2009
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (FILE - MARCH 2008) (REUTERS) OPPOSITION LEADER WALTER VELTRONI STANDING IN FRONT OF CAMPAIGN BUS CAMPAIGN BUS WITH SLOGAN 'YES WE CAN' WRITTEN IN ITALIAN OPPOSITION LEADER WALTER VELTRONI PRESENTING ELECTION CAMPAIGN
- Embargoed: 5th March 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVABXMR1CYVFU4N6F32D5R3QM7K4
- Story Text: The leader of Italy's centre-left opposition resigned on Tuesday (February 17) after a regional election defeat to the party of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been consolidating his strength despite a deep recession.
Walter Veltroni confirmed his intention of quitting, a spokesman for his Democratic Party (PD) said, even after party bosses initially ruled out the possibility following their routing in the governor's race on the island of Sardinia.
Analysts said the opposition had failed to capitalise on a grim economic recession, set to become Italy's longest since World War Two, and was weakened by constant internal bickering and a string of corruption scandals.
Berlusconi, a billionaire media mogul with a luxury villa in Sardinia, had criss-crossed the Mediterranean island campaigning for his party to capture a region previously controlled by centre-left rivals.
His party's candidate for Sardinia governor, Ugo Cappellacci, the son of Berlusconi's tax adviser, had 52 percent of the vote by midday on Tuesday and was declared victor.
That compared with 43 percent for rival Renato Soru, the former Sardinia governor and founder of telecoms firm Tiscali. Soru, also the owner of left-leaning newspaper L'Unita', had been tipped as a future leader for the centre-left opposition.
His defeat was the latest blow for Veltroni, who was badly beaten by Berlusconi in a parliamentary election last year. Since then, the opposition has been in disarray, while Berlusconi's government has enjoyed record popularity ratings despite the economic crisis.
Newspaper Il Giornale, which is owned by Berlusconi's family, called the Sardinia vote a "Coup de Grace" on the centre left, and analysts said the PD appeared to be in a downward spiral and needed a change in course. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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