INTERVIEW Mayoral candidate in Rome could usher in protest party's breakthrough By Alvise Armellini, dpa

Virginia Raggi, the young, earnest candidate favoured to win Rome‘s mayoral race, may help the Five Star Movement gain more legitimacy. But as Italy‘s anti-establishment party, once dismissed as "clowns," prepares for its political breakthrough, is it losing its edge?Rome (dpa) - Three years ago, leading German Social Democrat Peer Steinbrueck dismissed the Five Star Movement (M5S) as a party of "clowns." But now, Italy‘s main opposition force is gunning for a major political breakthrough.In local elections planned June 5-19, the political party headed by stand-up comedian Beppe Grillo is hoping to defeat Prime Minister Matteo Renzi‘s Democratic Party (PD) in major cities, raising its profile ahead of general elections due within two years.Virginia Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer, may win the most important race of all: Opinion polls say she is the most popular candidate in Rome and poised to become its first-ever female mayor."It would be an honour," she said in a dpa interview on the prospect of becoming mayor.Shrugging off comments about her looks, which have dominated media coverage of her, she said: "This is Italy."Whether she saw her election as a trial run for the M5S dislodging Renzi from Palazzo Chigi, the 18th-century prime minister‘s residence in central Rome? Raggi replied: "Yes, you could say that."In line with her party‘s clean politics mantra, her campaign focuses on anti-corruption, transparency and public waste reduction, issues that especially resonate in the wake of the Mafia Capitale bribery scandal that has led to dozens of arrests since December 2014.Raggi would succeed Ignazio Marino, who was elected under PD banners in 2013, but was then ousted by his peers in October.Marino claims he was forced out because he tried to take on the city‘s vested interests; his critics say he had to go because he was incompetent.Rome‘s municipality has a nearly bankrupt public transport system, an unproductive army of 50,000 employees often embroiled in absenteeism and corruption, and debts so large that nobody can precisely quantify them.Faced with the daunting prospect of inheriting such a mess, Raggi has steered clear of concrete proposals and, surprising some observers, ruled out painful reforms such as drastic city hall job cuts and fare hikes for public transport."Before talking about redundancies, let‘s wait, let‘s reorganize," she said.Her most radical statements have been against the building of a new football stadium for AS Roma and a bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, which would bring business to Rome‘s powerful construction lobby."Rome has been disfigured by grand projects," she said, switching the focus to "everyday, ordinary" priorities like repairing potholes. "When that gets under way, we may be able to consider grand projects, but at the moment, they are unthinkable and irresponsible."Such stances could bring her into conflict with Renzi, a vocal Olympic bid backer.There‘s speculation that if Raggi is elected, the central government may sabotage her administration, a treatment Marino claims to have already suffered.Others have put forward a poisoned chalice theory, in which Renzi would be happy to see the M5S win in Rome because the opposition party‘s standing would be dented ahead of general elections while governing such a troubled city.In February, M5S lawmaker Paola Taverna said candidates put forward by the centre-left and centre-right were so uninspiring "that there may be a plot to let the Five Star Movement win in Rome ..., deprive it of funds, and let it make a poor showing."Surveys predict that Raggi would win about 26 to 27 per cent of the votes in a first ballot, compared with 19 to 21 per cent for the PD‘s Roberto Giachetti and right-winger Giorgia Meloni, and that she would prevail in a run-off against both.Civic campaigner Massimiliano Tonelli, who runs the well-known Roma fa Schifo (Rome sucks) blog and went to school with Raggi, said the capital‘s mainstream political class was so discredited, that "the time has really come to see whether [the M5S] can succeed."However, he said that some tough love was needed to tackle Rome‘s ills, rather than the cautious approach promised by the front-runner: "I understand that she does not want to scare off voters, but my hope is that once elected, she will start delivering some punches.""Rome is like a drug addict," Tonelli said. "She needs to be dragged, kicking and screaming, out of her bad habits and into rehab - initially she will hate it, she will scream, but it is the only way to save her."