Italy’s Renzi faces crucial test in local vote

ROME: Italians go to the polls Sunday for municipal elections that represent tests for both Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the country’s divided right, with both fearing a chastening defeat in Rome.

More than 1,300 municipal councils will be elected in a two-round ballot to be completed on June 19, with the primary focus on the major cities of Bologna Milan, Naples, Turin, and especially the capital, where the populist, anti-establishment Five Star is heading the race for the mayor’s seat.