Italy's Silvio Berlusconi gestures during the television talk show 'Porta a Porta' (Door to Door) in Rome, Italy, June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/Files

 

PALERMO: Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was poised for a stunning political comeback on Monday, as he claimed victory in an election in Sicily that puts him and his rightist allies in pole position for a national vote due by next May.

With about 85 percent of the votes counted, a centre-right bloc backed by the four-times prime minister was running five percentage points ahead of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, with the centre-left a distant third.

?Sicily, just as I asked, has chosen the path of real, serious, constructive change, based on honesty, competence and experience,? the 81-year-old said in a video posted on Facebook.

The result puts Berlusconi back on the political map after years of *** scandals and graft allegations.

By contrast, it deals a stinging blow to Matteo Renzi ? another former prime minister who heads the ruling Democratic Party (PD), which is locked in feuding with erstwhile leftist partners.

After a raft of vote setbacks in recent years, Renzi has many critics inside the PD who may now try to mount a challenge to his leadership.

Held on Sunday, the regional Sicilian ballot is seen as a dry run for the national vote, with many of the island?s problems reflecting those of the country as a whole ? high unemployment, a debt mountain, and sluggish economic growth.

'A winning model'

Sicily is traditionally a centre-right stronghold which was poached by the PD in 2012 thanks to splits in the conservative bloc. This time Berlusconi reunited the coalition behind a widely respected leader with a far-right background.

Nello Musumeci ? the centre-right candidate for governor of the island ? had 39.8 percent of the vote, while the 5-Star?s Giancarlo Cancelleri had 34.7 percent.

The centre-left Fabrizio Micari was lagging on 18.5 percent.

?From Sicily, we will demonstrate that this is a winning model that can triumph at a national level,? said Giorgia Meloni ? the leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, which is the junior partner in the centre-right alliance.

The maverick 5-Star ? founded by comedian Beppe Grillo ? had campaigned relentlessly for months in Sicily, looking to take charge of its first region after a string of successes in municipal ballots in recent years, including in Rome and Turin.

Its leader Luigi Di Maio said the party had been penalized in Sicily by low turnout ? less than half of those eligible to cast a vote.

?In two or three months I think many of those who abstained will regret not going to vote,? Di Maio said, insisting that if turnout had been 3 or 4 points higher it could have tilted the result in the movement?s favour.

Although defeat is a blow, the 5-Star can take comfort from the fact that it is the largest single political force, taking at least 30 percent of a separate vote on Sicily for party lists against less than 15 percent for its nearest rival ? Berlusconi?s Forza Italia.