Berlusconi, Veltroni wait as Italy poll near ends

The 71-year-old media magnate should know within hours of polls closing at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT) whether he has seen off a challenge by 52-year-old centre-left leader Walter Veltroni and won a third term.

Both have pledged to reduce Italy's huge public debt, cut taxes and liberalise the highly regulated services sector, but the campaign has failed to cheer a nation tired of its squabbling politicians and chronic political instability.

"I voted, but without any enthusiasm," said Massimo Rossi, 47, sipping a cappuccino in a Rome cafe. "Whether Veltroni or Berlusconi wins, I see little changing in this country. I have little hope in Italian politics."

Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men and a fervent U.S. ally, led Veltroni in opinion polls before the first day of voting on Sunday but up to one in three of the about 47 million voters were expected to make their choice at the last minute.

Election laws make it hard for anyone to win a clear majority. Many Italians doubt their 62nd government since World War Two will be able to revive the economy, stem big price rises on basic foods such as pasta and bread and lift national morale.

The last coalition government, led by the centre-left's Romano Prodi, barely survived 20 months of its five-year term before collapsing in January after a revolt by Catholic allies.

 

SLIGHTLY LOWER TURNOUTÂ

Some 62.5 percent of voters cast ballots on the first day of the election, Italy's Interior Ministry said. That was down from 66.5 percent after the first day of the last election in 2006.

Pollsters had expected a slightly lower turnout than last time and a higher number of invalid ballots because of the widespread disenchantment with Italian politics.

Berlusconi, a flamboyant leader who was prime minister from 1994 to 1995 and from 2001 to 2006, stumbled at times in the campaign -- saying the left had "no taste in women" and insulting soccer player Francesco Totti for backing a rival.

Veltroni, a former mayor of Rome, portrayed himself as the candidate who would make a real break with the past in a more low-key campaign. But many Italians saw little difference between the two leading candidates' policies.

The winner's ability to head off a recession could be hampered by a complex election law which makes it hard to win a clear majority in the upper house. This could hurt efforts to push through reforms to lift the European Union's fourth largest economy, which the International Monetary Fund says will grow at just 0.3 percent this year.

Italy also has the world's third highest debt pile in absolute terms. A close race could force the winner into a coalition with smaller parties. Veltroni and Berlusconi deny they would form a coalition together.