Italian far-right leader Meloni eyes breakthrough in mayoral votes

FILE PHOTO: Former Italian Prime Minister and leader of the Forza Italia party Silvio Berlusconi gestures as League leader Matteo Salvini and Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni look on at the end of their meeting in Rome, Italy, October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - Italians were voting on Sunday for mayors in almost 1,000 towns and cities, providing an opportunity for far-right leader Giorgia Meloni to establish her dominance of the centre-right alliance ahead of a parliamentary election early next year.

Meloni, 45, leads the nationalist Brothers of Italy party, which tops opinion polls and has been steadily draining support from its rightist ally the League, led by Matteo Salvini.