Silvio Berlusconi mistakenly arrives at leftist party rally in Italy local elections

Italy’s 78-year-old former premier, Silvio Berlusconi, mistakenly turned up at a rally for a candidate from a left-leaning party on Friday night, instead of his own Forza Italia.

The incident occurred in the town of Segrate, near Milan, during the rally for Paolo Micheli, a mayoral candidate in local elections taking place on Sunday.

Supporters of Micheli, who is backed by the centre-left Democratic party, were astonished as Berlusconi and no less than six bodyguards swept into the square where the rally was being held.

He wandered around the square for several minutes before asking someone the candidate’s name. Berlusconi then said: “Young people, I’m counting on you to vote Paolo,” before hastily departing after being informed of his error by a member of his entourage.

Micheli later posted on his Facebook page: “With the support of the Cavaliere I can say I’ve won.”

It seems that Berlusconi got lost while looking for the hall where the mayoral candidate for Forza Italia party, Tecla Fraschini, was holding a campaign event.

20 million voters go to the polls on Sunday to elect governors in seven of Italy’s 20 regions, as well as the mayors of more than 1,000 cities and towns.

The elections are the first in Italy since prime minister Matteo Renzi’s Democratic party scored a resounding victory with 40% of the vote in the European elections last year.

The ballots are seen as a test for both Renzi and for Berlusconi’s fading Forza Italia, which faces a growing challenge for rightwing votes from the anti-immigration Northern League, which is led by rising star Matteo Salvini.

Five of the seven regions holding elections are governed by the left, one is led by the League and another by Forza Italia.

Bookmakers suggest the left will win six regions, with Veneto in the north-east remaining with the League.

Renzi, 40, appears to remain popular with voters after almost 18 months as prime minister.

Giovanni Orsina, political scientist at the Luiss University in Rome, said: “The alternatives to Renzi are not very attractive – he remains the only serious political offer.”

A poor performance could spell the end of Berlusconi’s political career, Orsina added.

In March the billionaire businessman was acquitted by Italy’s top court of charges of paying for an underage prostitute and using his political clout to cover it up. He has also performed a stint of community service for tax fraud.

• This article was amended on 1 June 2015. It originally stated that the elections are the first in Italy since Renzi’s Democratic party won power with just over 40% of the vote. They are the first since the party scored a resounding victory in the European elections last year, not since the general election in 2013. This has been clarified.