4 of GDP in 2005 which is bullish for the first time since 1995

Each style. While "he Professore" came to ride on a motorcycle driven by his spokesman place of the people, in Rome, for his end of year speech, "he Cavaliere" chose the Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples, to harangue the last undecided. At the end of six weeks of virulent campaign, where the leader of the outgoing majority, Silvio Berlusconi, has not hesitated to tough by characterizing as "couillons" center-left coalition voters, some 47 million Italians took this weekend, the path to the polls to elect their 630 deputies and their 315 senators. For the first time since 1993, the vote will take place according to a proportional system with lists blocked and premium for the winning coalition majority. Polling stations will be open until this afternoon, 15 hours, the first available projections are planned between 18 and 19 hours.

High proportion of undecided

"Do you want to are governed by the accomplices of the worst tyranny of history, who had as idols Stalin, Pol Pot, Lenin, and still singing the praises of Fidel Castro", exclaimed by Silvio Berlusconi in Naples, while Romano Prodi appealed to voters to "rebuild the country." Despite the advance of 3.5 to 5 points is credited the of centre-left coalition in opinion polls, games are made, the share of undecided is estimated between 25 and 30 according to the institutes. The two coalitions that collide are the most extended ever encountered in the history of the Italian elections. While the center-left coalition created by the nine founding parties of l'Unione (Democrats of the left, Marguerite, Refoundation Communist, Italian Democratic Socialists, Greens, Udeur, party of Italian Communists, Italia dei Valori and of the European Republicans movement) also received the support of the Rose in the fist radicals (Radicali Italiani) and the Italian Democratic Socialists (SDI), the support in the House of freedoms of Silvio Berlusconi (Forza Italia)(National alliance, the Northern League, UDC...) range of the new PSI (Italian Socialist Party) of Gianni De Michelis at the extreme right-wing party Alternativa Sociale of Alessandra Mussolini.

Controversial economic balance

Despite several government crises, Silvio Berlusconi, sixty-nine years, can boast of having done a full legislature to the Presidency of the Council, after having beaten the record of longevity of his "mentor", Bettino Craxi. For its part, the former President of the Commission, Romano Prodi, sixty-seven years, builds on its success won in the primaries of the left, on October 16, 2005, where he had obtained 74 of the votes (out of a total of 4.3 million voters), with six other candidates, to transform the test on the scale of the legislative. But it is mainly on the economic and social field that is at stake, the electoral result. Even if supporters of "Cavaliere", and part of his opponents, recognize that it contributed substantially to renew the Italian political life by strengthening the bipolar, his economic record remains more than controversial. According to economist Francesco Giavazzi from Bocconi University, the annual potential cost of the program of the House of freedoms for the next legislature is between 2.5 and 7.5 of GDP (36 to 101 billion euros) the width of the range is explaining by the lack of details on its financing , whereas that of the Union varies between 1.4 and 1.7 of GDP (20 to 24 billion euros). While the left essentially on the 5 points of payroll decline to boost growth, the center-right coalition intends to continue on the path of the tax cuts. But one like other coalitions remained relatively blurred on the financing of their promises, given the constraint of public debt (106.4 of GDP in 2005), which is bullish for the first time since 1995.