ROME – The Eternal City will have be governed by its first woman mayor as Five Star Movement (M5S) candidate Virgina Raggi scores a dazzling electoral victory Sunday with 67.2 percent of the vote in a run-off against lacklustre rival Robery Giachetti who gained just 32.8 percent.  "A new era begins with us," said Raggi. "We'll work to bring back legality and transparency to the city's institutions after 20 years of poor governance."

 The stunning victory in the polls for the 36-year-old lawyer climaxed a campaign marked by mud-slinging against her call for Romans to vote  against corruption in local politics and was a huge shot in the arm for the anti-establishment party headed by the raucous comic Beppe Grillo who was in Rome at M5S headquarters celebrating with Ms Raggi.

 In Italy’s business capital Milan Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s embattled Democratic Party (PD) was struggling to avoid a second major political debacle in a neck and neck run-off vote with centre-right parties, political experts said.  The Lega Nord leader, Matteo Salvini, added, "Italians don't believe in Renzi any more."

 The PD –backed candidate for mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, was leading in the exit polls with a predicted  51 percent of the vote against his centre-right rival, Stefano Parisi ,with 48.5 percent.

  In the northern city of Turin the PD candidate, incumbent mayor Piero Fassino, also faced upset at the hands of another M5S woman candidate, Chiara Appendino who had 54.5 percent of the vote, edging Fassino on his 45.5 percent.

The turnout Sunday was well below that in the first round as many Romans assumed that Ms Raggi’s victory was a foregone conclusion. On average by 7 pm only 36.5 percent  of the 8.6 million Italians eligible to vote in the weathervane city elections had cast ballots though turnout was higher than average in Milan and Turin.

In Rome only 34.9 percent of voters had cast votes by 7 pm compared with 39.9 percent in the first round vote.

In Naples only  25.2 percent  of voters had cast ballots by 7 pm reflecting expectation that incumbent mayor Luigi De Magistris was set  to be re-elected. De Magistris took a convincing 63 percent lead in the exit polls.

 In Rome former prime minister Massimo D’Alema, seen as a dissident within the former communist Democratic Party critical of Renzi’s leadership, strongly denied speculation that he might vote for Ms Raggi to try and precipitate the demise of Renzi.

 “I voted as I always have done according to the recommendation of the party,” D’Alema told reporters.

 As a result of these elections Raggi's party, Movimento Cinque Stelle, has won 19 out of the 20 mayoral positions for which they were running.

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