stronghold

Italian Right Hopes To Conquer Left Stronghold In Key Vote

Italian Right Hopes To Conquer Left Stronghold In Key Vote

Italians began voting in Umbria Sunday for a regional election heralded as a key test for both the young left-leaning government and a zealous new right-wing opposition alliance.
Firebrand Matteo Salvini is determined to wrest the hilly region prized for its truffles and prosciutto from the left, which has governed it for 70 years, by capitalising on a health scandal and biting economic crisis.

β€œNever before has Umbria, with its 884,000 inhabitants, been such an important thermometer for national politics,” the Sole 24 Ore daily said in the run-up to the vote.

Polling stations opened at 7 am and close