Italy’s recent southern regional election results have cast new uncertainty over Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s path to re-election in 2027. While the national outcome ended in a 3-3 split between the ruling conservative bloc and the centre-left, decisive victories for the opposition in Campania and Puglia signaled a growing challenge to Meloni’s dominance. Political
Florence has elected its first female mayor, Sara Funaro, who decisively defeated her right-wing opponent. A local councillor from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Funaro secured governance of the Italian city with over 60% of the vote. Her opponent, Eike Schmidt, a former director of Florence’s Uffizi Gallery and a candidate backed by Italy’s far-right

