Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has suffered a serious blow in local elections. Aides said he was "surprised and saddened" by the results, Reuters reported. Both Berlusconi's PDL party and its Northern League allies did badly in the first round of voting on Sunday and Monday in elections in 1,310 towns and 11 provinces. The polls were seen as a key test for the premier midway through his third term. Berlusconi's centre-right bloc suffered the biggest shock in their stronghold of Milan, trailing a centre-left candidate who forced them into a run-off for the first time in 14 years.