Italy's Salvini fails to seize left's stronghold
Italy's right-wing leader Matteo Salvini has failed to oust the left in a key regional election.
He was pushing for a win that he hoped would be enough to bring down the fragile national government.
Instead it's a huge relief for Italy's embattled centre-left who seem to have held on to the region of Emilia-Romagna.
Salvini wanted a shock victory for his League party and rightist partners on Sunday (January 26), that could have forced a collapse of the national government, which includes the PD and its coalition partner - the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.
Salvini had been relentlessly promoting anti-immigrant and anti-Europe policies since the start of the year.
Despite the defeat in Emilia-Romagna, the right-wing bloc secured a resounding victory in a separate regional election in Calabria.
