Rachele Mussolini, the granddaughter of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, has emerged as the most popular candidate in Rome city hall elections, near-final results showed Wednesday.
With counting done in more than 97 percent of polling stations, Mussolini garnered more than 8,200 preference votes after standing for the hard-right Brothers of Italy party.
The 47-year-old, who will be serving a second term as a city councillor, insisted that her surname had nothing to do with her popularity.
"The person prevails over their surname, however burdensome it is," she told the La Repubblica newspaper, adding: "I have many left-wing friends."
Mussolini's late father, Romano, was a jazz pianist and brother-in-law to actress Sophia Loren. He was Benito Mussolini's fourth child.
Other descendants of the Italian dictator have gone into politics, all for the right, including Rachele's step-sister Alessandra, a former member of the European Parliament.
Right-wing parties fared relatively badly in local elections in Italy on Sunday and Monday, losing mayoral races in key towns such as Milan, Naples, and Bologna.
In Rome, a run-off is due to take place on October 17-18 between right-wing candidate Enrico Michetti, a lawyer and radio host, and the centre-left's Roberto Gualtieri.
In the first round, Michetti won 30 percent versus 27 percent for Gualtieri, a former economy minister. Opinion polls suggest Gualtieri is favourite to win in two weeks' time.
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Published 06 October 2021, 11:14 IST