Polls have closed at 3 p.m. today.

These elections were to elect governors of several Italian provinces,city councils and a regione, Sicily.

First exit polls ( be cautious, we may recall how they were dead wrong in the recent political elections in Italy) are like the following:

Election for the governor of Sicily: Salvatore Cuffaro ( Democratic Christian Union of the Center, center-right) 53,1 % , Rita Borsellino ( center-left ) 42,2. Source: Ansa.

Election for the City Council of Milan: Letizia Moratti (center-right) 49-51% , Bruno Ferrante (center-left) 48-50% . Still too close to call. I expect Moratti to win.

Election for the City Council of Naples: Rosa Russo Iervolino (center-left) vs. Franco Malvano , still too close to call. It is the first time an election in Naples is too close to call. Naples has always been ruled by the Left, so the too-close-to-call factor means that the right has gained much in the last few months. Unfortunately, some minor candidates have been discovered exchanging votes with the local mafia, the camorra.

In Turin, Sergio Chiamparino (center-left) leads Rocco Buttiglione ( center-right) 60%-30%. This is nothing surprising, as Turin is also a leftist city. And, in my opinion, Buttiglione (considered as “too catholic and clerical”) was not the appropriate person chosen to challenge the current mayor, Chiamparino.

In Rome, also a leftist city, current mayor Walter Veltroni ( center-left ) leads Alemanno (social right-winger) 58-40. Again, the candidate proposed by the center-right was not the best one. Personally, if I was living in Rome, I wouldn’t vote for any of the two candidates. Alemanno is from the quasi extreme-right. He is anti-capitalist and he has told he doesn’t intend to renounce to Mussolini’s ideas. He is a “reformed fascist”, but still a fascist. Of course, Veltroni is not at all better. He is from a former communist parties, whose ideas are also not good. In Rome, many consider themselves either leftist or fascist (meaning they are nostalgic of Mussolini, and that includes many youths).

There are many more city councils and provinces whose results have not yet been published in the Interior Ministry’s website.

Stay tuned as I’ll post updates!