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The 2008 Italian General Election has been won by Silvio Berlusconi, who is smiling broadly tonight. He's back in power. The Democratic party leader Walter Veltroni quickly conceded defeat for the left, shattered by first forecasts that were surely the shortest-lived in recent Italian political history. Several post-vote polls said Silvio Berlusconi would have a third stab at running the country. They were right.
Berlusconi, 71, again like in 1994 when he entered politics for the first time, is at the head of a brand new party, and it has delivered a knockout punch in its first ever fight. His People of Freedom party has won a clear majority in both houses of parliament, EuroNews reports.
Fragmentation on the left, and a wafer-thin upper house majority brought Romano Prodi down in January after only 20 months. It appears the new Senate has tipped decisively in favour of the right. Here virtually all the votes have already been counted. The victory is assured.
The scale of the victory, if these results are confirmed, explode any pre-vote notions of a "grand coalition" between left and right to change the constitution in the favour of the two biggest parties.
In the lower house there are a variety of projections, none giving the Italian right less than six percent more than the left. Several give him more. The left's Walter Veltroni does not score even 40 percent in any of them.
It appears Berlusconi has beaten the left to the punch, and that one half of a two-party system is already in place. His half.
How keen will his reformist desires be now given this dominant position? The 63rd. postwar Italian government will operate under a constitution made law by Berlusconi less than two years ago, which was supposed to favour smaller parties, and contributed to the current fragmentation on the fringes.
Only he has been able to create a juggernaut unified enough to brush the smaller challengers away. Their share of power is small indeed, and they will struggle to make their voices heard.
Turnout has been given at just over 80 percent, but that is three percent down on 2006 when electors seemed to be thoroughly disillusioned with Berlusconi's promises to make them all rich, and voted him out, albeit narrowly.
Current prospects look little better, as the economy is ailing and in dire need of reforms Berlusconi vowed to make last time, but failed to forge in a full term in office. Some suggest he will be even less implicated in the affairs of government this time as he bids to step up to the President's office.
// 15.04.2008 14:36
News URL: http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4040.shtml
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