Italy's Prodi wins primary election to head centre-left in 2006 general election
Italy's Romano Prodi, former president of the European Commission has won the US-style primary election to lead the centre-left in next year's general elections, said news agencies.
Prodi has won 74.6 pct of the 4 mln votes cast, followed by leader of the Refounded Communists Fausto Bertinotti with 14.6 pct, Ansa said, citing primary organisers and based on 92.4 pct votes counted. Prodi, who is not aligned with any specific centre-left party, will head the challenge to the centre-right government led by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in the scheduled Spring election. However, yesterday's primary election, the first of its type in Italy, was marred by the killing of the vice-president of the Calabria regional authority Francesco Fortugna at a voting station. Murder investigators were cited by Corriere della Sera newspaper saying the shooting was "a pure mafia-style execution". The death of Fortugna, from the centre-left Margherita party, is seen as a warning to political parties from the mafia, which has wide interests from farming to public works contracts, it said.
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