ROME: Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has bounced back to the forefront of national politics with a resounding primary election win to regain leadership of the ruling Democratic Party (PD). Renzi won 70.01 per cent of votes in a internal party ballot of 1.85 million people, according to final tallies.
This represented an emphatic victory for the 42-year-old, although turnout was well down on the 2.8 million who voted in his successful campaign of 2013 and also below the three million of previous primary contests. Renzi’s rivals — Justice Minister Andrea Orlando and Michele Emiliano, governor of the southern region of Puglia, both from the party’s left wing, garnered 19.5 per cent and 10.4 per cent respectively.
“It is a huge responsibility. I thank from the bottom of my heart those men and women who believe in Italy,” tweeted Renzi after it became clear he had won handsomely.
Renzi resigned as prime minister in December after Italians overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional referendum aimed at streamlining the parliamentary system. — AFP
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