Berlusconi holds off centre-left

A Genoa woman casts her vote

ROME, Italy -- The coalition of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has seen off a challenge by the centre-left in local elections a year after being elected into power.

The centre-right coalition gained in the south of the country but lost to the left-wing in the north during the weekend election.

A total of 967 locales were up for grabs including 147 in towns and cities as well as the posts of 10 provincial presidents.

On test was Berlusconi's promise of sweeping economic reform and the general performance of his coalition which won a solid majority in the lower house last year and just over half the Senate.

The centre-right was expected to improve on its general election performance at the expense of the left-wing, but while Berlusconi's coalition strengthened its hold on power, it did not make huge gains.

The centre-right won outright in 10 city councils in 27 of the larger cities electing a new major. The left held on to power in six.

The government's greatest victory was in the cities of Parma and Reggio Calabria and the surrounding province but it failed to win the city of Genoa and nearby areas, while Verona was forced into a run-off.

"All remains almost as it was before," the front-page editorial in the centrist La Stampa newspaper said.

Turnout was registered at 76 percent in the municipal elections and 65 percent in the 10 provincial races, the Interior Ministry said.

In both cases it was a slight drop from five years ago, despite an extension in the voting time on Monday, the first time since 1992.

La Stampa's editorial added: "Whoever wants to interpret the vote... from a political point of view should come to the conclusion that Italians withheld judgement on Berlusconi's government: it did not fail nor pass the test but remains in charge as before, awaiting new events."

Attempts by coalition leaders to raise their profiles within the coalition ahead of a predicted summer reshuffle failed to materialise.

Berlusconi's Forza Italia party lost marginally while the arch-conservative Northern League gained along with smaller centrist parties within the coalition.

Former porn star Ilona Staller, better known as Cicciolina, failed in her bid to become mayor in Monza.