An Italian court dealt a blow today to prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's regional election hopes when it refused to reinstate the ruling coalition's candidate list for polls in Rome province.
The government had rushed through a decree on Friday to ensure its list was reinstated, after bureaucratic bungling meant it failed to submit documents on time to the electoral office.
The polls in 13 of Italy's 20 regions are seen as a test of national strength for Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition, which has been rocked by scandals over the past year that have dented the premier's popularity.
Mr Berlusconi's list may be allowed in the March 28th vote, but its fate rests on what could be a complicated legal process, with other court rulings that will have to determine whether the decree is valid.
An opposition Democratic Party lawyer argued the court had ruled that emergency legislation could not be applied to the case in hand. Berlusconi's People of Freedom coalition promised to take its battle to the administrative Supreme Court.
"Yet again the Berlusconi government has put together a useless and unconstitutional law which has been unable to pass the first test of its legitimacy as soon as a court has been called to rule on it," former anti-graft prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who heads the opposition Italy of Values party, said.
The decree passed on Friday modified the rules on the lists for the elections, saying it was enough for party officials to be present in the building at the deadline for the presentation of candidates, even if the lists were not submitted.
Outraged opposition leaders had vowed to protest the decree in parliament and on the streets.
Mr Berlusconi's party hailed it as simply giving all Italians the right to vote, while the opposition has called it a blatant bending of the rules.
The ruling coalition had faced problems with lists in the northern Lombardy region as well, but a Milan court reinstated governor Roberto Formigoni's list over the weekend. Mr Formigoni said the decree had no influence on the court.
A poll published yesterday by the Corriere della Sera newspaper showed approval for the government falling close to its lowest levels since taking office in 2008 due to the chaos surrounding the registration of its candidates.
But the government is expected to perform well at the regional elections as surveys show the divided and weak opposition scoring even lower approval ratings.
Rome, the capital of Lazio, is considered important since it is Italy's political capital.
Lazio had been considered an easy win for Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition because the region's ex-governor, Piero Marazzo, a leftist, resigned after a sex and drugs scandal. But the pre-election fiasco has hurt its chances.