ITALY: Italian electoral campaign reaches its peak as opposite coalitions leaders Prodi and Berlusconi hold rallies for thousands of supporters

Record ID: 346966

  • Title: ITALY: Italian electoral campaign reaches its peak as opposite coalitions leaders Prodi and Berlusconi hold rallies for thousands of supporters
  • Date: 26th February 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE)(Italian) CENTRE-LEFT COALITION LEADER ROMANO PRODI, SAYING: "Dear friends, this year the spring will begin on April 10, when the urns will close and Italians will have made their decision, a decision which this time will be without any possible appeal." WIDE OF CENTRE-LEFT COALITION LEADER ROMANO PRODI ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE)(Italian) PRODI, SAYING: "A governmen
  • Embargoed: 13th March 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACKBFDOVNWOFDWGP2ZLJKH3OJ
  • Story Text: Electoral campaign for 2006 Italian general election was heading towards its climax as both leaders of opposite Italian political coalitions held rallies on Saturday (February 25, 2006).
    Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the right wing party "Forza Italia" and leader of the centre-right coalition "Casa delle Liberta'" (House of Freedoms) joined with 10.000 supporters in a Sports Arena in Milan. "And if there is something corrupted in Italy, that is their system, an unacceptable criss- cross of interests among the red administrations, the red cooperatives, the red magistrature", said Berlusconi, accusing the former Italian Communist Party, now called Left-wing Democrats, "composed of the same men coming from the same school which corrupted the minds of far too many, too many, too many Italians", he said. Romano Prodi, leader of centre-left coalition "L'Ulivo" (The Olive tree), gathered thousands of people in the afternoon in an Arena in Rome in the same day (February 25). "This year the spring will begin on April 10, when the urns will close and Italian will have made their decision, a decision which this time will be without any possible appeal", said Prodi, who is confident ahead of April 9 and 10 general election, with polls putting the opposition some 4.5 percentage points ahead of the ruling centre-right. The 69-year old prime minister Berlusconi is eager to hold two televised debates with Prodi, the former president of the European Commission who is seen as less media friendly than the perennially sun-tanned, upbeat Berlusconi. However, Prodi has yet to agree to the terms for such a confrontation, demanding that Berlusconi first scrap plans for a televised news conference following the last debate. Despite the lack of any accord, state television RAI announced on Friday that the two debates would be held on March 13 and April 3.
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