ROME: Italians flocked to the polls on Sunday in an election that could oust Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the media tycoon who promised prosperity but failed to lift Italy’s flagging economy during five years in power. Voting stations across the country were busy at the start of a two-day election that could see Romano Prodi, leader of a broad centre-left coalition return to power.
“It’s a beautiful day and I hope everything finishes in the best possible way,” said Prodi as he voted in his home town of Bologna, Northern Italy. Prodi is favourite to beat the flamboyant Berlusconi whom he accuses of economic mismanagement and embarrassing Italy with a constant stream of gaffes.
Berlusconi, America’s strongest ally in Europe, still hopes his promises of tax cuts will swing a surprise victory. But even he spoke of possible defeat in the final days of campaigning.
Whoever wins will inherit the unenviable task of cutting the world’s third-largest national debt pile and try to breathe new life into a struggling economy that grew 0.6 per cent a year under Berlusconi.
Prodi, if elected, would need to manage a disparate coalition, ranging from die-hard communists to centrist Roman Catholics. If Prodi’s bloc wins, relations between Rome and Washington could cool. Analysts say that while stopping short of a 180-degree policy reversal he would shift Berlusconi’s priorities, putting Europe rather than the US first. Whatever the result, analysts expect it to take at least a month until a new government can be formed.
