ROME, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Italy's ruling center-left Democratic Party (PD) came out on top in a weekly survey of voters' preferences by Ixe pollsters on Friday.
The party of Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni garnered 27.4 percent approval, while the populist, euroskeptic Five Star Movement stood at 26.8 percent.
The Ixe poll also showed that 13.7 percent backed Silvio Berlusconi's center-right Forza Italia party, 14 percent supported the anti-immigrant Northern League, and 4.4 percent favored the right-wing Brothers of Italy party.
The three successfully ran together and scored big in last Sunday's local election runoffs in many Italian towns and cities, winning most of the contests in 22 provincial capitals.
The center-left lost traditional leftist strongholds such as the cities of Genoa and Pistoia, sparking criticism of PD leader and ex-premier Matteo Renzi.
The Five Star Movement, which have been running neck and neck with the PD in opinion polls for some time, were absent from most of the runoffs after performing badly in the first round.
The next general election will likely see a three-way contest between the PD, the Five Star Movement, and the center-right bloc.
Also according to the Ixe survey, 55.8 percent of respondents said they would turn out to vote in a general election, and 34 percent said they had confidence in Gentiloni.
The prime minister beat out Renzi (28 percent), Berlusconi (17 percent) and Five Star chief Beppe Grillo (15 percent).
The poll of 1,000 respondents aged over 18 was carried out June 28 and has a three percent margin of error, Ixe said on its website.
Italy's next general election is to be held before or at the end of the current legislature in spring 2018, depending on when lawmakers agree on a new electoral law.
