Bersani to face Renzi in runoff vote for Italy left leader

Pier Luigi Bersani, head of Italy's Democratic Party, will face his main rival Matteo Renzi in a runoff next week to pick the centre-left candidate to fight to succeed Mario Monti as prime minister following the first round of a primary vote on Sunday.    

With almost half the results counted, Bersani led with about 44 percent, ahead of Renzi, the youthful mayor of Florence, who was campaigning as a modernizer, at around 36 percent, according to party officials.    

Both candidates have pledged to maintain the budget discipline pursued by Monti's technocrat government and to respect Italy's commitments to its European partners but say they will encourage growth and will not blindly pursue austerity policies.        

Nichi Vendola, the openly gay head of the left-wing Left, Ecology, Freedom party was in third place with 15 percent, while the remaining two candidates, Bruno Tabacci and Laura Puppato, trailed far behind.    

The outcome of the second round will remove one major element of uncertainty dogging Italian politics ahead of spring elections to choose a successor to Monti's government, which took over after Silvio Berlusconi stepped down as prime minister in November, 2011.


REUTERS