Last day of campaigning before Italy election

By Silvia Aloisi

ROME (Reuters) – Italian politicians on Friday campaigned
for the last day before a parliamentary election on April 9-10
with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, lagging in the polls,
battling to stave off defeat.

Berlusconi, who has appeared angry and defensive in recent
days as the campaign grew more acrimonious, started the day
with two radio interviews where he called on Italians to vote
en masse because a low turnout could favor the opposition.

“My first appeal is: go to the polls. If, by chance, too
many people stay at home, there could be the possibility — I
don’t think so, but there could be — of a victory by the
left,” he said, talking of possible defeat for the second day
in a row.

He also renewed an attack against the judiciary, accusing
it of scheming with the center left to sink his election
chances.

“I am outraged by the fact that there are state employees,
that with the money of Italian citizens, plot against the prime
minister, the government and the image of Italy,” he said in a
separate radio interview.

Berlusconi will end his campaign in the southern city of
Naples, where he will hold his first joint rally with his main
allies — National Alliance leader Gianfranco Fini and Pier
Ferdinando Casini, head of the Union of Christian Democrats.

For their final rally, centre-left challenger Romano Prodi
and his coalition leaders have chosen Rome’s Piazza del Popolo.

The center left maintained a steady lead of 3.5-5.0
percentage points when an opinion poll blackout came into force
two weeks ago.

A new voting system rushed into law in December means
whoever wins is likely to enjoy only a slim majority in
parliament, especially in the Senate, which has a key role in
the passing of legislation.

That has raised fears of political instability and is
certain to make life more difficult for Italy’s next
government, with analysts warning Prodi’s broad and unwieldy
coalition could prove particularly vulnerable to internal
bickering.

REFERENDUM?

Commentators say Berlusconi’s recent outbursts, including
Thursday’s assertion that United Nations observers were needed
to prevent his rivals from rigging the vote, had polarized
Italy and turned the ballot into a referendum on his
leadership.

Opposition leaders, appearing increasingly confident of
victory, have accused the prime minister of losing his wits.

“It’s bizarre that the head of government is the one who is
spreading fear and undermining confidence in democracy,” said
Prodi, a former European Commission president.

The newsstands on Friday did nothing to improve
Berlusconi’s mood, with most newspapers reprinting the cover of
the British magazine The Economist advising Italians to vote
him out of office under the headline “Basta” (That’s Enough).

While Berlusconi’s government has passed a string of
reforms over the past five years, it has failed to revive the
stagnant economy and many Italians say they feel worse off than
in 2001.

Most analysts are skeptical things will get better soon.

“Italy’s problems appear so deeply rooted that the next
government, whatever its complexion, is unlikely to do little
more than make a start at solving them,” said London-based
Barclays Capital in a research note.

There is no campaigning on Saturday. Polls will open at 8
a.m. (2 p.m. EST) on Sunday. Voting is already over for
Italians living abroad, who for the first time could pick their
representatives among expatriates.