KEY POINTS:
A former street-fighting neo-fascist won a crushing victory in Rome's mayoral election, crowning the victory two weeks ago of Silvio Berlusconi and the centre-right in the general election, and fuelling fears that Italy is now set for an unprecedented assault on immigrants.
The new mayor is Gianni Alemanno, the 50-year-old son of an Army officer, who still wears the Celtic cross belonging to a rightist friend killed with a spanner blow to the skull during a demonstration.
He has mellowed since his wild youth: as agriculture minister in Berlusconi's last government, his passion for organic food would have done credit to a Green.
But getting tough on immigration is a key promise. In his 16-point "Pact for Rome", number seven reads: "Immediately activate procedure for the expulsion of 20,000 nomads and immigrants who have broken the law in Rome." And point eight: "Closure of illegal nomad camps, rigorous and effective checks on legal ones and their progressive elimination."
Alemanno's election confirms that the xenophobic wave which swept the Northern League to historic highs in this month's general election has reached Rome.
- INDEPENDENT
