After years of “bunga bunga” sex scandals and corruption allegations, former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was set for a remarkable political comeback on Monday, as a centre-Right coalition with him at the helm swept to victory in elections in Sicily.

The regional elections were seen as an important barometer of Italians’ voting intentions, as the country heads to a national election which is expected to be held in the Spring.

The centre-Right’s candidate for governor of Sicily, backed by a coalition consisting of Mr Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, the anti-immigration Northern League and a third Right-wing party, Brothers of Italy, won 39 per cent of the vote on the island, according to projections.

In second place was the anti-establishment Five Star Movement with 35 per cent, followed by the Democratic Party of former premier Matteo Renzi, which suffered a humiliating drubbing at the polls with just 19 per cent of the vote.

Mr Berlusconi was exultant at the result, attributing the success of the centre-Right coalition to the appearances he made in Sicily prior to voting.

But the Right’s criticism of a government policy which has seen hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees rescued in the Mediterranean and brought to Sicily also seemed to strike a chord with many voters.