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 Polls close at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT), ending two days of voting in an election
being closely watched by Italy's eurozone partners as well as international
investors trying to decide if they consider the eurozone's third-largest economy
a good bet. Interest rates on 24-month bonds rose to 1.65 percent from 1.45
percent in the previous month, a sign of softening investor sentiment even as
voting continued. The Treasury failed to reach its euro3 billion target, instead
selling euro2.82 billion worth of paper. Turnout was 55 percent when polls closed
Monday night, 7 percentage points below the turnout rate in the last national
election in 2008 . Experts say a low turnout will hurt the mainstream parties.
Usually around 80 percent of the 50 million eligible voters go to the polls.
Leading the electoral field is Pier Luigi Bersani, a former communist who
drafted liberalization reforms under previous center-left governments and
supported tough measures pushed by incumbent Premier Mario Monti. Silvio
Berlusconi, who was forced from office in November 2011 by the debt crisis, has
sought to close the gap by promising to reimburse an unpopular tax -- a tactic
that brought him within a hair's breadth of winning the 2006 election. Monti,
respected abroad for his measures that helped stave off Italy's debt crisis, has
widely been blamed for financial suffering caused by austerity cuts and was
trailing in fourth place. The great unknown is comic-turned-political agitator
Beppe Grillo, whose protest movement against the entrenched political class has
gained in strength following a series of corporate scandals that only seemed to
confirm the worst about Italy's establishment. If his self-styled political
"tsunami," which was polling third, sweeps into Parliament with a big chunk of
seats, Italy could be in store for a prolonged period of political confusion
that would spook the markets.
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Bersani's lead in opinion polls -- around 33 percent to Berlusconi's
28 before a blackout on polls took effect 15 days ago -- would give
him enough to control the lower house thanks to a widely contested
electoral law that awards a premium to the leading party. But it
will be more difficult for him to gain control also of the Senate,
which is decided by regional votes with Lombardy, the nation's
wealthiest state and longtime Berlusconi stronghold, playing a
critical role. Most analysts believe Bersani would seek an
alliance with center-right Monti to secure a stable government,
assuming parties gathered under Monti's centrist banner gain enough
votes. While left-leaning Bersani has found much in common with
Monti, much of his party's base is considerably further to the left
and could rebel. Given the uncertainty of possible alliances, a
clear picture of prospects for a new Italian government could take
days. [Associated
Press; By VICTOR L. SIMPSON and COLLEEN BARRY]
Barry reported from
Milan.
Copyright 2013 The Associated
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