In late 2006 Tosi launched his bid for mayor of Verona. Initially he was supported only by his party, but then, thanks to his popularity in opinion polls, he was able to threw behind himself the whole centre-right coalition, including the LV, Forza Italia, National Alliance, the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and minor parties. In May 2007 he was elected mayor of Verona by a large margin: 60.8% to 33.9% of the incumbent Paolo Zanotto. Verona was thus the second largest Italian city ever ruled by Lega Nord (LN), the first one being Milan, ruled by Marco Formentini from 1993 to 1997. Tosi was one of the most popular mayors in Italy with approval ratings around 65-75%.