65% of Italy's 40 million voters turned out to elect governors in 13 regions, of which 11 had until now been controlled by a centre-left opposition that has been in disarray since it was defeated by Berlusconi in national elections in 2008.
The centre-right recorded huge gains on its 2005 result, winning seven regions including the most populous ones like Piedmont and Lazio.
The outcome in Lazio, Italy's central region which includes Rome, was extremely close. Centre-right candidate Renata Polverini claimed victory shortly before midnight over the opposition's Emma Bonino, a former European commissioner.
An analysis of individual parties' performance reveals a stunning success for the Lega Nord in the Veneto and major advances in many northern regions, especially in Piedmont, where Robert Cota became the region's first Lega Nord president and only the second in Italy, after Luca Zaia in the Veneto.
Commenting on the results, Lega Nord leader Umberto Bossi noted that the elections had been won on a ticket of reform and federalism. "In the north, the left does not exist any more," he said scornfully.
Until a few weeks ago, Berlusconi had looked set for a landslide victory, but a string of corruption probes and the exclusion of his party from a 28-29 March ballot in the key province of Rome caused many analysts to believe that Italians were turning their back to the premier. This seems not to have been the case.
"These elections are very important to give a feel of the support Berlusconi has in the country, and the relative power of the different parties in his coalition," said James Walston, professor of political science at the American University of Rome, in an interview with Reuters.
An ISPO poll for the Corriere della Sera daily, published before the poll, said the government's approval ratings had fallen to 39%, while 17% of voters had decided not to vote or to change their vote as a result of the pre-election chaos.
Sandro Gozi, a Democratic member of parliament, conceded that the Democrats had failed to renew themselves. "Voters are fed up with the same faces and the same speeches of the last 15 years. We have a long way to go. We are not ready to offer the competitive alternative that this country needs," he told the Financial Times.
