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Prodi?s Union Could
Form Next Italian Government
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Articles about Italy)
(Angus Reid Global Scan) ? The opposition
Union (Unione) could secure a majority of the seats in Italy?s
Chamber of Deputies, according to a poll by Eurisko published
in La Repubblica. 51 per cent of respondents would support the
centre-left alliance in next year?s legislative election.
Last month, former president of the European Commission Romano
Prodi won a nationwide primary to become the Union?s leader
and candidate for prime minister. The group includes the Democrats
of the Left (DS), Democracy and Liberty (La Margherita) and
the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC).
The governing House of Freedom (Casa)?which includes prime minister
Silvio Berlusconi?s Forwards Italy (Forza Italia)?garners the
backing of 45.5 per cent of respondents. Berlusconi has been
in office since June 2001. The media mogul had previously served
for less than eight months in 1994 and 1995.
In a second poll, with three centre-left parties merged as the
Olive Tree United List (Ulivo), the Union gets 52 per cent of
the vote, with the House of Freedom at 45 per cent.
In the 2001 ballot, Berlusconi?s centre-right coalition elected
282 lawmakers to the 475-seat Chamber of Deputies, the largest
majority for an Italian government since World War II. The next
election is scheduled for Apr. 9, 2006.
On Oct. 13, the Chamber of Deputies voted 323-6 to enact changes
to electoral regulations. Most lawmakers from centre-left parties
decided not to take part. The legislation?which is expected
to become official after a Senate review this month?abolishes
the existing electoral system and allocates all lower house
seats through proportional representation with three different
thresholds: two per cent for parties running within a coalition,
four per cent for unaligned parties, and 10 per cent for coalitions.
On Nov. 5, Prodi vowed to boost public housing and deal with
inequalities in the suburbs of Italian cities, saying, "Italian
outskirts are real human tragedies. There are also very bad
life conditions in cities where only Italian citizens live."
Polling Data
If the election took place tomorrow, what party would you support?
Option 1
Option 2
Union (Centre-Left)
51%
52%
Democrats of the Left (DS)
22%
--
Democracy and Liberty (La Margherita)
12.5%
--
Italy of Values (Lista di Pietro / Occhetti)
1.5%
--
Olive Tree United List (Ulivo)
--
34.5%
Communist Refoundation Party (PRC)
6%
7%
Party of Italian Communists (PCI) and
Green / Sunflower (Verdi / Girasole)
4.5%
5.5%
Italian Democratic Socialist (SDI) and
Italian Socialist Party of Craxi (PSI-Craxi)
2.5%
3%
Popular Alliance (UDEUR)
2%
2%
House of Freedom (Centre-Right)
45.5%
45%
Forwards Italy (Forza Italia)
18%
18%
National Alliance (AN)
12%
12%
Northern League (LN)
5.5%
5.5%
Union of Christian and Centre-Democrats (UDC)
5%
4.5%
Christian Democracy (DC)
2%
2%
New Italian Socialist Party (Nuovo PSI)
1.5%
1.5%
Social Alternative (AS)
1.5%
1.5%
Source: Eurisko / La Repubblica
Methodology: Interviews with 1,518 Italian adults, conducted
from May 16 to May 19, 2005. No margin of error was provided.
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