Winning Majority Vote, Rachele, Granddaughter Of Dictator Benito Mussolini Chance To Win Rome City Council Election

Rachele Mussolini. (Facebook / @ rachelemperroma)

JAKARTA - Rachele Romano Mussolini, the granddaughter of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, has a great chance of winning back the seat of a city council member in Rome, Italy with a majority of votes.

Representing the far-right Brothers of Italy party, Rachele Mussolini won more than 8,200 votes in the municipal election on October 3-4, more than any other candidate and far more than the 657 votes she received in the previous ballot, in 2016.

"In the past, I was interviewed only because of my surname. During my last term, they started asking about the initiatives I was promoting in the city council. I have worked hard," he told the daily newspaper la Repubblica, citing Reuters.

Rachele is the daughter of jazz musician Romano Mussolini, son of Benito Mussolini who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.

"I learned to live with my surname since I was a child. At school, they used to designate me, but then Rachele showed up and I won over the family name, no matter how heavy the name was," he continued.

Asked his views on fascism, he said he was against fascism but declined to comment further, saying, "To deal with this issue, we need to talk until tomorrow morning."

Apart from Rachele, his half-sister Alessandra, another granddaughter of Mussolini, also served as a member of the European Parliament between 2014 and 2019, reports Euro News.

Italy's four largest cities, Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin, as well as more than 1,000 smaller centers are holding elections on Sunday and Monday, with the second round in two weeks' time in cities where no candidate has made it to the top. 50 percent.

The centre-left candidate looks to have won without needing a second round in the financial capitals of Milan, Naples and Bologna.

Meanwhile, the right bloc, which includes Rachele Mussolini's party, is still hoping to win the second round in Rome between candidates Enrico Michetti and center-left Roberto Gualtieri.