Renzi re-elected as ruling party head

ROME - Matteo Renzi, staging a political comeback less than five months after resigning as Italy's prime minister, easily regained the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party, or PD, on Sunday with an overwhelming victory in a primary election among party supporters.

According to partial results, Renzi had 72 percent of the vote, held in makeshift polling booths around the country. About 2 million party members voted in the primary.

Both of his opponents and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni all congratulated him, and Renzi gave a long victory speech at party headquarters.

"Forward together," Renzi said to applause.

Renzi, 42, resigned as prime minister in December after a crushing defeat in a referendum over constitutional reforms aimed at streamlining lawmaking. He was replaced by Gentiloni, his foreign minister, but he quickly began planning a comeback.

With a national vote due by May 2018, polls show the ruling PD has slipped behind the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which questions the country's euro membership. Renzi's ability to counter the 5-Star surge may be crucial to fending off an existential threat to the eurozone.

Polls show 5-Star now has around 30 percent of the vote and a lead of between 3 and 8 percentage points over the PD after a dispute between Renzi's loyalists and traditionalists caused a party split in February.

"I voted for Renzi because he's got more drive and determination than the others, but I'm not convinced he'll get back into government," said computer engineer Luigi Mancini, a PD supporter in Rimini on the Adriatic coast.

"With the (proportional representation) voting system we've got, it seems unlikely that anyone will get a majority," he added.

Reuters - AP

(China Daily 05/02/2017 page12)