ITALY: Centre-left leader Romano Prodi claims a knife-edge victory in Italy's election on Tuesday, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's allies dispute the result.

Record ID: 872795

  • Title: ITALY: Centre-left leader Romano Prodi claims a knife-edge victory in Italy's election on Tuesday, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's allies dispute the result.
  • Date: 12th April 2006
  • Summary: VARIOUS ROMANO PRODI WITH COALITION LEADERS ON STAGE/ ROMANO PRODI OPENING BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE
  • Embargoed: 27th April 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • City:
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA30YPGWM4P3F6SLIUV46RW4V5
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  • Story Text: Romano Prodi arrived in a square in central Rome early on Tuesday (April 11) announced he had defeated Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy's general election.
    Hundreds of flag-waving centre-left supporters greeted Prodi as he took to the stage to address them. Many chanted 'We are arseholes' referring to the term Berlusconi had used at the end of the electoral campaign to describe people who didn't vote for him.
    "We have won," Prodi said whilst opening a bottle of champagne.
    "We will govern for five years, united," he said confidently indicating he believes his coalition will not crumble as it did the last time Romano Prodi held government.
    "We will bring Italy forward even for those people who didn't vote for us - we must unite the country," Prodi said.
    The latest returns indicated that the centre-left won in the lower house and Sky Italia TV projected that it would have a majority of one or two seats in the upper house Senate thanks to votes of Italians abroad that were still being counted.
    Still, the victory margin was so narrow that the centre-right demanded a review and commentators said Prodi would have a hard time enacting reforms, cutting Italy's debt or trimming its deficit.
    Official data showed that in the lower house Chamber of Deputies Prodi's bloc had taken about 49.80 percent of the vote compared with 49.73 percent for Berlusconi. The winning margin was around 25,000 votes, a tiny fraction of Italy's 47 million eligible electors.
    Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition disputed Prodi's claim to have won Italy's general election.
    Berlusconi spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti told reporters that the centre-right bloc would call for a "scrupulous" check of election ballots.
    But some supporters were disillusioned by the victory with ballot numbers being so close many said for them could not be seen as a real victory.
    "They won with such a small margin it's not great" said a young unsmiling Giovanni Riccardi watching Prodi on the stage.
    "I don't understand why they are dancing and jumping up and down this isn't a victory," said Luigi Esposito with a look of distaste on his face.
    Just round the corner in the cobbled streets near the Trevi fountain there was heavier than normal security and dozens of journalists waited in vain for Berlusconi to appear.
    Unlike the popular gathering outside Prodi's headquarters, where families mingled with teenagers and pensioners, and popular music played, there were only a few officials and media waiting outside.
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