Former Five Star MP Michele Sodano elected Agrigento's first ever progressive mayor

Rome — Michele Sodano, a former Five Star Movement MP and one time X Factor contestant, has been elected mayor of Agrigento, becoming the first progressive politician in the city's history to win the mayoralty.

The 36 year old secured a decisive victory in Sunday's run off election, taking 72.31 per cent of the vote against centre right candidate Dino Alonge, who received 27.69 per cent.

 Sodano's election marks a historic political shift in the Sicilian city, long regarded as a stronghold of Christian Democratic and centre right parties. Backed by the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement and the reformist coalition Casa Riformista, Sodano ran under the banner of Controcorrente, the movement founded by Sicilian regional deputy Ismaele La Vardera.

 "Now the real work begins. The real challenge will be rebuilding our Agrigento," Sodano told supporters after the result was confirmed.

B orn in 1989, Sodano graduated in Business Economics from Milan's and later completed a master's degree in Copenhagen, where he lived and worked between 2013 and 2017.

 He entered national politics in 2018 after being elected to Italy's Chamber of Deputies as a member of the Five Star Movement. His parliamentary career lasted until 2022, although he left the party in 2021 after being expelled for abstaining during a confidence vote on the government led by former Prime Minister . He subsequently joined the Mixed Group in parliament.

 Outside politics, Sodano is a multi instrumentalist and appeared on the Italian edition of X Factor in 2009 while still a university student. During his time in parliament he also worked alongside politician on proposals aimed at regulating cannabis.

 His decision to join Controcorrente in 2025 brought him closer to La Vardera, whose movement has sought to build a broad progressive alliance in Sicily. The victory in Agrigento represents the movement's most significant electoral success to date and has been described by supporters as a potential model for the wider centre left across the island.

 Sodano had narrowly missed outright victory in the first round of voting, securing 39.1 per cent of the vote compared with Alonge's 34.7 per cent. The fragmented centre right ultimately proved decisive, with rival conservative candidates splitting support before the run off.

 Despite the emphatic victory, Sodano now faces the challenge of governing with a city council where the centre left coalition remains in a clear minority.

 Voter turnout fell sharply in the second round, dropping to 41.03 per cent from 59.1 per cent in the first round, with just over 21,000 residents casting ballots.

 For many observers, however, the result signals the beginning of a new political era in the City of the Temples, where progressive forces have achieved a breakthrough that until now had appeared out of reach.

PS