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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Renzi set to regain leadership of weakened ruling party

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ROME: Matteo Renzi looks well placed to regain the leadership of Italy’s ruling Democratic Party (PD) on Sunday, but returning to government may be a much tougher task for the former prime minister.


The PD will hold a primary election among its supporters on Sunday and opinion polls suggest Renzi will comfortably beat his two rivals, Justice Minister Andrea Orlando and Michele Emiliano, governor of the southern region of Puglia.


An opinion poll by the Ixe Institute last week suggested he will win close to 60 per cent at Sunday’s ballot to be held at makeshift polling booths around the country, far ahead of Orlando, seen on 15 per cent, and Emiliano on 8 per cent.


While Renzi still seems to be the most popular politician among PD voters, the party and his own appeal look much weaker than during his heyday as prime minister, after he failed to convert his ambitious reform agenda into reality.


Renzi’s current personal approval rating is about half of the 50 per cent he posted three years ago, according to Ixe.


“Renzi’s anti-establishment halo is gone and his credibility as a reformer has been dented by his bombastic promises and the relatively modest reforms he managed to deliver,” said Wolfgango Piccoli of the Teneo Intelligence think-tank.


Renzi, 42, resigned as prime minister in December after a crushing defeat in a referendum over constitutional reforms aimed at streamlining lawmaking, but he quickly began plotting a comeback from his Tuscan home.


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 in fending off an existential threat to the euro zone.


Polls show 5-Star now has around 30 per cent of the vote and a lead of between three and eight points over the PD after a dispute between Renzi’s loyalists and left-wing traditionalists caused a party split in February. — Reuters


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