ITALY: Centre-right leader Berlusconi and centre-left opponent Veltroni step up the pressure in the Italian election campaign

Record ID: 731170

  • Title: ITALY: Centre-right leader Berlusconi and centre-left opponent Veltroni step up the pressure in the Italian election campaign
  • Date: 11th April 2008
  • Summary: (BN13) ROME, ITALY (APRIL 10, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS CENTRE-RIGHT LEADER SILVIO BERLUSCONI ARRIVING AT RALLY WITH ARCH OF CONSTANTINE IN BACKGROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) CENTRE-RIGHT LEADER, SILVIO BERLUSCONI SAYING: "The left has proposed a great communicator an extreme liar that is not called the main opponent but he is called Walter Veltroni." CROWDS BOOING CROWDS WITH FLAGS LISTENING TO SPEECH MAN LISTENING TO SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) CENTRE-RIGHT LEADER, SILVIO BERLUSCONI SAYING: "I asked myself if we can put the country in the hands of such a person, ashamed of his CV and lying saying he was never a communist. he is liar, Italians are not stupid, I don't think they will believe in such lies." WIDE OF RALLY BERLUSCONI ON STAGE WITH ALESSANDRA MUSSOLINI CENTRE-RIGHT LEADER SILVIO BERLUSCONI JOKING WITH CROWD
  • Embargoed: 26th April 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA8UQ70IENGHPJTKY5N0KV83TW
  • Story Text: Billionaire Silvio Berlusconi is hoping for a decisive victory over centre-left rival Walter Veltroni in Italy's parliamentary election to boost the next government's chances of tackling a social and economic malaise.
    Berlusconi has consistently led opinion polls by about 5 to 9 percentage points but up to a third of the 47 million eligible voters are expected to make their choice at the last minute before they vote on Sunday and Monday.
    On Thursday (April 10) thousands of Berlusconi supporters gathered in Rome for the final election rally of the man tipped to win the country's April 13-14 elections.
    As usual Berlusconi sought to use a theatrical backdrop for his final showing, next to Rome's ancient coloseum and alongside the Arch of Constantine, built to commemorate a triumphant victory in the Roman times.
    The 71-year-old leader of the People of Freedom party (PDL) stepped onto stage to the cheers and screams of his fanatical followers.
    Berlusconi appeared to turn his back on the otherwise polite election campaign seen over the last few weeks and immediately launched into an attack on his main rival centre-left leader Walter Veltroni.
    "The left has proposed a great communicator, an extreme liar that is not called the main opponent but he is called Walter Veltroni"
    Berlusconi said as the crowd booed on hearing Veltroni's name.
    "I asked myself if we can put the country in the hands of such a person, ashamed of his CV and lying, saying he was never a communist. He is liar, Italians are not stupid, I don't think they will believe in such lies." Berlusconi said.
    At the end of the rally, Berlusconi was joined on stage by the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini, Alessandra Mussolini, who makes up part of Berlusconi's coalition.
    Veltroni ventured into enemy territory when he held his rally in Milan later: the northern city is Berlusconi's home town.
    Huddled under umbrellas, hundred of thousands of people gathered in heavy rain to hear the centre-left leader.
    Despite Berlusconi's jibes Veltroni stuck to politics and commented on the amount of people who had gathered to listen to him.
    "The hundred thousand people this evening in Milan has particularly good feeling for me" Veltroni told his supporters, alluding to the town being the homebase of his rival.
    "Economic growth and the fight against poverty, our fight is not against the rich but against poverty and we must remember it always,"
    Veltroni told his supporters.
    Repeating one of the phrases used by Berlusconi - 'the cross that I have to carry has never been so heavy' - brought whistles from the crowd but Veltroni took the high moral ground, telling the crowd: "No please, whistles in our house don't exist. We are the civil part of the Italian political system."
    Veltroni will hold his closing rally of the election campaign in Rome on Friday (April 11).
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register