Italy's centre-right wins mayoral elections in blow to Matteo Renzi

Rome: Italy`s centre-right parties hammered their centre-left rivals in mayoral elections, official results showed on Monday, a win that is likely to put pressure on the ruling Democratic Party (PD) ahead of a national vote due in less than a year.

An alliance of Silvio Berlusconi`s Forza Italia party and the anti-immigrant Northern League won 55 percent of the votes in the northern port city of Genoa, traditionally left-wing stronghold, where the right will govern for the first time in more than five decades.

PD leader Matteo Renzi, who has been seeking to make a comeback since stepping down as prime minister in December, was the clear loser in Sunday`s vote, though polls show his party is still one of Italy`s most popular nationally. 

"It could have gone better," Renzi said in an early-morning Facebook post. "The overall result isn`t great."