The media tycoon and centre-right coalition leader, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, was last night preparing to form the 59th Italian government of the post-war era after emerging as the clear winner of Sunday's general election. At the end of a controversial campaign, the final tally yesterday evening confirmed the broad indications of both campaign opinion polls and electoral exit polls with Mr Berlusconi's House of the Liberties coalition commanding a comfortable working majority in both houses of parliament.
In a vote that many described as a "moral referendum" on the personality of the controversial millionaire Mr Berlusconi, the centre-right leader registered a resounding triumph, with his own Forza Italia party emerging as by far the strongest in the land with just under 30 per cent of the vote, more than 13 per cent ahead of the ex-communist Democratic Left.
Even in the senate, where the outgoing government centre-left coalition might reasonably have expected to run it close, the centre-right proved dominant, winning 177 of the 315 seats, with 128 going to the centre-left. Such a margin not only saw off the centre-left but it also means that Mr Berlusconi will not depend on the support of his maverick ally, the Federalist Northern League.
That same Northern League appears to have suffered from its decision to throw in its lot with Mr Berlusconi, seeing its vote halved from 1996 down to just over 5 per cent.
One telling aspect of this Italian vote was its strongly bipolar nature. A majority of Italians, perhaps influenced by the huge media focus on the clash between the centre-left leader, Mr Francesco Rutelli, and Mr Berlusconi, appears to have voted against independent forces such as the Radical Party of former European Commissioner Ms Emma Bonino, the Italy of Values of the former Clean Hands magistrate, Mr Antonio Di Pietro, and the European Democracy movement of seven times prime minister Mr Giulio Andreotti, all practically wiped out.
Mr Rutelli conceded defeat yesterday.
The overwhelming nature of the centre-right's victory was further underlined in a number of single-seat constituency results. Seven centre-left government ministers were all beaten in their respective constituencies, having to resort to the proportional quota to regain a parliamentary seat.
Denis Staunton adds: EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels reacted cautiously to the result. Austria's minister, Ms Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said it was no cause for concern. But her French counterpart, Mr Hubert Vedrine, said Paris would be "attentive and, if need be, vigilant" to what the new Italian government does.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said he hoped to see continuity in Italy's EU policy, and Germany's Mr Joschka Fischer declined to comment.