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Alarm, hysteria mark Italian elections

MILAN, Italy (Reuters) -- To hear the campaign rhetoric, Italy hangs on the edge of an abyss.

An enraged Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says his rivals have fomented street violence that threatens democracy.

A communist ally of opposition leader Romano Prodi says the center-right's hands are "dripping with blood".

Italy, according to a U.S. State Department warning ahead of the April 9-10 vote, is under "public threat."

"Alarm, hysteria, the sense of a final, catastrophic showdown that terrorizes whoever ends up losing -- these are the predominant feelings," Italy's leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, said in an editorial entitled "Electoral Apocalypse."

Italians enjoying the first buds of spring could be forgiven for scratching their heads over talk of creeping civil war.

There has been less than a handful of election-related street skirmishes, and campaigning has gone ahead uninterrupted.

Since the 1994 collapse of the Christian Democrat (DC) party which ruled for half a century, the constitution has survived communists in government and two stints in power for Berlusconi, whose media empire has also endured.

Yet appeals by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi to tone down the shrill language have fallen on deaf ears. Each side has continued to predict the demise of democracy if it loses.

"Political passions have become as irrational as those of football fans," humorist Beppe Severgnini wrote.

Why, then, the doomsday predictions by Italy's elite? Part history, part politics and part personalities, analysts say.

No more mediators
The disintegration of the DC party under the weight of corruption scandals cleared the way for a bipolar political system.

That is the rule in many democracies but not so in Italy which during the Cold War trod a middle path between the fascist legacy of dictator Benito Mussolini and the anti-capitalist ideals of Western Europe's biggest communist party.

"The Christian Democrats acted as mediators. Now there are no mediators," said Anna Bull, a University of Bath professor.

The discrediting of the Christian Democrats has made it hard for either bloc to shift decisively to the center.

And while the political elites after World War II sought to bridge divisions between neo-fascists and communists, today the same elites are at daggers drawn.

"Deeply set ideological divisions continue," said Bull. "Each side sees the other as the enemy."

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Reuters - A campaign blackout fell over Italy on Saturday on the eve of general elections, silencing the candidates, and giving the nation a respite from the ugliest electoral battle in living memory.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who called leftist voters masochistic "assholes" in the last week of his campaign, stayed out of sight -- as did opposition leader Romano Prodi, favoured by opinion polls to win the race.

The pre-election pause was meant to give the country an opportunity for national reflection, following five years under Berlusconi that brought Italy rare political stability but not the economic prosperity he promised.

"I'm glad the campaign is over. It was ugly, ugly ... and not fair to the electorate," said Edvige Cesarei, a 63-year-old teacher, who counted herself among the millions of Italy's undecided voters.

"I've always voted for the centre right, but this time, I don't know."

Campaigning officially ended on Friday night and the candidates traditionally stay silent until voting begins on Sunday, when they will start publicly casting their own ballots.

Opinion polls have not been published in two weeks, but Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, has lagged behind the centre-left opposition for the past two years. The most recent surveys gave the centre-left a 3.5 to 5.0 percentage point advantage to win the election.

Berlusconi is still hoping to clinch a surprise victory by wooing undecided voters with surprise promises of tax cuts, which he announced at the end of a lively -- and nasty -- campaign in which the candidates angrily traded insults.

Prodi compared Berlusconi to a drunk and to a carpet salesman.

Berlusconi called opposition voters "coglioni", which means "assholes," and caused a diplomatic incident with China during one of his many tirades against Communists, who are part of the centre-left coalition.

He said it was a fact that "Mao's China" boiled babies to fertilise fields -- "groundless talk", Beijing replied.

BITTER TEARS

Two days of voting are set to begin at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Sunday and results should be known by late Monday.

Whatever the result, analysts expect some acrimony.

Berlusconi has already accused his adversaries of being capable of rigging the vote. The media tycoon has even said that U.N. election monitors were needed to prevent fraud.

Prodi has railed against Berlusconi for breaking campaign rules, seeking an illegal advantage, and would be shocked if the conservative prime minister staged a surprise comeback.

But Italy's political veterans say that, as far they can tell, the worst is over.

"We're at the finale, finally. There will be a certain aftermath, divisions, acerbic discussions over the vote tallies, accusations and counter-accusations ... maybe bitter tears. It will last one, two weeks," one analyst said in a front-page column in La Stampa newspaper.

"But still this very ugly electoral campaign is over."

For Stefano Barbo, standing in a sunny Roman square with a newspaper under his arm, the end of the campaign is just a first step. He now wants the curtail to fall on Berlusconi, who had led Italy's longest serving government since World War Two.

"They didn't live up to their promises. It's over. The campaign -- and, I hope, Berlusconi's government," Barbo said.

She still could recognize influential males.

Strictly for educational purposes only:

BERLUSCONI: WORLD NOW KNOWS HOW TO TRANSLATE 'COGLIONI'
(AGI) - Rome, April 5 - "What is English for 'coglioni'?" a British Reuters editor wondered yesterday. The question eventually regarded all languages. Until yesterday, the most famous Italian word was 'spaghetti', but now there is more macho one, whose honour has thus been restored. The term has always had the same meaning in Italian history, since the time Bartolomeo Coglioni, serving the city of Venice, obtained the Castle of Malpaga. His grand nephews, dukes, found the surname somewhat heavy, and changed it to 'Colleoni', and claimed they descended from Hercules. Reuters, not knowing this, wrote: "The Italian Prime Minister used an obscene term to denigrate his opponents, and this made the electoral campaign hotter than ever, with 5 days to go to the elections". Then, with a due background not, it pointed out that "the most common English and American translations for 'coglione' are 'idiot', 'cretin', 'fool', 'moron', 'prick' and 'asshole'". English and American vocabularies are wrong. The best translation is, in fact, "sucker", "dickhead" or just "dick". The latter is most popular one, with the commonly used phrase "Don't be a dick". The version reported by the English agency, however, is the most commonly accepted one by the main US newspapers: New Yok Times and Washington Post. Associated Press confirms so. "The term 'coglioni' - it explains somewhat paedagogically - is a vulgar word used to call someone an idiot or a cretin. Very common among Italian citizens when they speak, but basically unknown to official speeches and business talks". Australian papers, not being sure, trusted the literal translation: the Sydney Morning Herald used the word "Testicles" in its headlines. Things were easier for the French press, considering the similarities between Italian and French: "Couillons!", reports Liberation. 'Le Monde' ignored the case, France Press agrees with Liberation. There's no need for a dictionary. Surprisingly enough, there are divergences in the Spanish press, although 'cojones' is semantically equal to 'coglioni', and is also used similarly. Nevertheless, 'El Mundo' used the classical "gilipollas", and 'Clarin' (Argentina) used "boludos".

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-- There are no income taxes in The Democratic People's Republic of Korea

April 10 | Rome

Reuters - Centre-left leader Romano Prodi remained on course to beat Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy's general election, according to a new, broader-based exit poll released on Monday.

The second poll by the Nexus research institute predicted that Prodi's alliance would win between 50 and 54 percent of the vote in both the lower house of parliament and the upper house -- unchanged from an initial poll released 45 minutes earlier.

If confirmed, this would give the centre-left a workable majority in the two chambers.

Berlusconi's centre-right bloc was shown winning 45 to 49 percent of the vote according to the second poll, broadcast by RAI state television. Again, this was unchanged from the first poll. Official results are due later on Monday.

Prodi dismisses vote challenge, tells Berlusconi to 'go home'

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ROME : Italy's election victor Romano Prodi outlined his plans for government, dismissing the threat of a recount demanded by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and saying he would take power in May.

"I have absolutely no fear of a reversal of the situation," the centre-left leader told his first major news conference since his hair's breadth election win was announced Tuesday.

Prodi said he would take office in May even though the outgoing premier has refused to concede the defeat of his centre-right coalition.

Later in the day, after Berlusconi alleged there had been "vote-rigging" in numerous parts of Italy during the weekend election, Prodi told him it was time to pack it in.

"Berlusconi has been trying to spread concern and in spite of his defeat he continues to cast doubt on the legality of our victory. I can assure you there is no doubt about our victory," Prodi said in his northern hometown of Bologna.

"We won and it is useless for Berlusconi to try to delay (recognition of our victory). Berlusconi must go home," he added.

At the earlier press conference, the centre-left leader vowed that his government would pass a new law aimed at preventing conflicts of interest.

"There will not be any preferential or damaging law for any one person. Everyone is equal before the law," Prodi said, without referring specifically to his predecessor.

Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, is embroiled in legal entanglements stemming from his vast business empire including the country's largest private TV network, a publishing conglomerate, insurance companies and department stores.

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