Mayoral runoffs in many big Italian cities on Sunday were being watched to see how Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's often bickering Democratic Party fares, especially in Rome, where City Hall corruption scandals have tainted traditional parties on both the left and the right, and where an anti-establishment candidate was the top vote-getter in the first round of balloting. Polls were scheduled to close at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT), with vote counting beginning immediately. It was unclear when a significant number of ballots would be tallied to see how the races were shaping up. Romans are impatient for change and improvement, especially of their strike-plagued mass transit service and undependable trash collection agency. Disgusted over streets gutted by potholes and clogged with traffic, most voters gave their support to the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement's candidate Virginia Raggi in the first round on June 5. If Raggi wins, she'll be the first woman to serve as Rome mayor. Like that of challenger Roberto Giachetti, a Democrat, Raggi's campaign was short on details for a Rome renaissance. Her opposition to the bid for the city to host the 2024 Olympics is a direct challenge to Renzi's embrace of the possibility. Giachetti served as a mayoral aide in an administration pre-dating the years of City Hall patronage and kickback scandals. Since neither candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote, Sunday's runoff between the top two vote-getters was necessary. The 5-Star Movement, founded by comic Beppe Grillo, also has a candidate in Turin's runoff. The electoral duel in Milan, Italy's financial heart, saw Renzi's clout on the line. As Democratic Party leader, Renzi campaigned enthusiastically for the center-left candidate, Giuseppe Sala, who successfully carried off the recent international Expo in that city, a point of pride for the premier. The challenger, Stefano Parisi, backed by the center-right, has a similarly solid curriculum as a manager. Other major cities holding runoffs included Naples and Bologna. Voters in Rome voiced their disenchantment with past local politicians. "The outskirts are abandoned. The historic city center is just a showcase for tourists," said Simonetta Facioni, after casting her vote. Some of the dozens of local politicians and businessmen arrested in the scandal are on trial on charges including corruption, graft and using Mafia-like intimidation methods to win municipal contracts. An investigation by prosecutors revealed that many contracts were awarded without bidding to cronies of City Hall officials, including from the Democrats as well as from right-wing and other parties. With Renzi at the helm of the Democrats, party factional differences have grown bitter, as some chafe at his take-charge style. Rome's last mayor, a Democrat not involved in the still unfolding scandals, resigned last fall when municipal officials quit in droves and confidence was lost in him having the skills to turn the city around. Renzi left him to his fate and since then, Rome's administration has been headed by an official appointed by the interior minister.
