Berlusconi coalition suffers heavy defeat in local elections

The center-right coalition of Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suffered a heavy defeat Monday in nearby elections within the two primary cities of Milan and Naples, seen as a key test of the premier's popularity.

In Milan, Berlusconi's hometown which was led by a center- right mayor for the past 20 years, the candidate of the largest opposition group Democratic Party (PD) Giuliano Pisapia was elected mayor.

With all votes counted, Pisapia, an attorney, won 55.10 percent of ballots, beating conservative incumbent Mayor Letizia Moratti, who took 44.89 percent. "We seem to have freed Milan,"local newspaper Corriere della Sera quoted the newly elected mayor as telling supporters who greeted him having a standing ovation upon his victory.

Italians voted on Sunday and Monday in a number of main cities and provinces where no candidates won much more than 50 percent in a very first round of voting two weeks ago.

In Arcore, outside Milan, where Berlusconi has his main residence, the center-left candidate Rosalba Colombo was elected mayor by a margin of more than 13 percent.

The center-left candidate also won in Naples, where prosecutor Luigi De Magistris became mayor. 1 of his 1st challenges, he said soon following the victory, is going to be to end the southern city's chronic garbage crisis, a issue compounded by the Naples mafia' s grip on waste disposal inside the region.

"We have lost, it can be evident," Berlusconi stated right after the elections outcomes, but he insisted that defeat won't result in his resignation or a collapse of the government. "I am a combatant, every single time I lose I triple my strength,"he added.

Berlusconi, 74, is on trial for four instances linked to allegations of bribery, tax fraud, and paying for sex with an underage prostitute. He denies any wrongdoing and accuses magistrates of waging a political war against him.

Based on Corriere della Sera, the victory of the opposition candidates inside the mayoral races show Berlusconi has fallen out of favor with Italians, who are tired of the scandals that numerous associate with his three-year-old government.

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