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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Election divide spells uncertainty in Italy

Alessandra Rizzo Associated Press

ROME – Italy’s parliament headed toward an unprecedented split on Tuesday between Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative coalition and one led by his center-left rival – the result of a national vote that could stall the formation of a new government.

Final results in the two-day vote ending Monday showed Romano Prodi’s center-left coalition gaining control in the lower house of parliament, with 49.8 percent of the vote compared to 49.7 won by Berlusconi’s conservatives. The winning coalition is automatically awarded 55 percent of the seats.

According to the results, Berlusconi’s center-right coalition held a one-seat lead in the Senate; six seats elected abroad were still to be counted, but if the lead stands, the split could usher in a new period of political instability for Italy.

“Until the very end we were left in suspense, but in the end victory has arrived,” a jubilant Prodi told supporters.

Berlusconi’s spokesman contested the victory claim, and a top official in Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party indicated the conservatives would request a recount “in order to have a result that we really can consider certain and final.”

The official, Sandro Bondi, also accused Prodi of having “a politically irresponsible and adventurous attitude.”

Prodi’s allies conceded after his announcement that results in the Senate were still not complete.

During his tenure as premier, Berlusconi, a flamboyant billionaire, had strongly supported President Bush over Iraq despite fierce Italian opposition to the war. Prodi, an economist, said he would bring troops home as soon as possible, security conditions permitting. But the issue was largely deflated before the campaign began, when Berlusconi announced that Italy’s troops there would be withdrawn by year’s end.

For hours after the vote ended Monday, projections and returns swung dramatically back and forth between the two, and without the vote from abroad, the election’s outcome was still unclear. Voter turnout was about 84 percent.

The Senate and lower chamber of parliament have equal powers, and any coalition would have to control both in order to form a government. Some center-left and center-right leaders have said if neither side controls both houses, new elections should be called.

“If there’s a different majority between the Senate and the Chamber we need to go back to the polls,” leading center-left lawmaker Luciano Violante said earlier in the day.

If parliament is split, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi could try to name a government of technocrats at least until another election. He could also seek to form a coalition of left and right, but the bitter divisions among Italy’s political parties makes that seem unlikely.

There is no clear provision in the Italian constitution to deal with a split parliament, and there are no precedents.