Berlusconi defiant as Italy awaits final word

Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi today remained defiant in his refusal to concede defeat to centre-left rival Romano Prodi as Italians awaited the official results of a count of contested ballots in close-fought parliamentary elections.

“At least on the basis of the popular vote, there’s no winner and no loser,” Berlusconi wrote in a letter published today in top Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Hours earlier, the premier had said he still had hope he would be declared the winner, as long as the count of contested ballots continued.

But the count seemed certain to confirm Prodi’s narrow victory, after electoral officials sharply reduced the number of contested ballots.

The official result would formally end days of political stalemate since the elections on Sunday and Monday. Prodi’s centre-left won a razor-thin majority in both houses of parliament, but Berlusconi alleged irregularities and demanded thorough checks.

On Friday, the Interior Ministry drastically reduced the number of contested ballots from 80,000 down to 5,200, dashing Berlusconi’s hopes of retaining power. The new figures were not enough for the premier’s conservatives to reverse the electoral result, even with a gap as narrow as the one dividing the two coalitions.

The ministry said the confusion was caused by officials including null or blank ballots in the number of contested ballots by mistake.

Prodi again urged the premier to concede.

“He must acknowledge how things went, and, I believe, apologise as well after what he said about fraud,” Prodi told reporters today in Bologna.

Berlusconi said earlier this week that there had been fraud in the elections, but quickly backed away from his comments.

Still, he has insisted that the routine count of contested ballots is not enough and has demanded a check of voting reports from virtually every polling station in Italy. He has also alleged irregularities in the vote of Italians abroad.

But by law, only contested ballots can be checked immediately after an election. All other complaints regarding blank, null or otherwise irregular ballots must be taken up by parliamentary commissions set up by the new parliament.

Once checks on the contested ballots are completed, a top Italian court, the Court of Cassation, certifies the election result. It was not clear when the court’s confirmation would come.

In his letter published today, Berlusconi also renewed an appeal he made to the opposition to create a coalition government, saying “a partial agreement, limited in time and aimed at dealing with the country’s institutional, economic and international commitments should not be ruled out in principle”.

He raised the possibility of a “grand coalition” earlier this week, but Prodi and other centre-left leaders quickly rejected the proposal. Prodi would not need Berlusconi’s party to form a government, even if his majority of elected senators in the upper house of parliament is only two.

Even centre-right politicians have expressed scepticism over Berlusconi’s stance, with some saying they opposed any agreement with the centre-left and others urging him to concede defeat.

“It seems to me that the idea of not recognising the result is losing strength by the hour,” said Franco Pavoncello, a political science professor at John Cabot University.

But the premier, Pavoncello said, was looking ahead.

“Berlusconi is trying to cut a political role for himself and his centre-right coalition for after the election,” he said.

Even once the results are confirmed, it could still be weeks before Prodi takes office.

It is up the president to give him a mandate to form a government. However, the president’s term ends in mid-May, and the current president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, has said he would leave the decision up to his successor. Parliament has until May 13 to elect a new president.