Pierluigi Bersani, a former communist and economic development minister, said on Monday he would return Italy’s Democratic party to fundamentals after becoming the fourth leader of the centre-left opposition in two years.
Mr Bersani comfortably defeated two rivals in a vote on Sunday which – in contrast to parties on the right – was open to all Italians and foreign residents over the age of 16. Party leaders declared themselves pleased at a turnout of close to 3m people.
The Democrats, trailing Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition in opinion polls, have suffered a string of local election defeats and scandals since losing power in the 2008 general elections.
Piero Marrazzo, the Democratic governor of the region of Lazio around Rome, resigned at the weekend after it emerged that he had been the victim of an alleged extortion attempt by Carabinieri policemen who had filmed him with a transsexual prostitute in Rome.
Newspapers reported on Monday that the policemen had tried to sell the video to the media, including the weekly Chi, owned by Mr Berlusconi. The magazine was reported to have rejected the video and the prime minister, a media magnate, warned Mr Marrazzo of the blackmail attempt against him.
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