ITALY: Romano Prodi was crowned yesterday as Italy's undisputed opposition leader after triumphing at centre-left primaries called to pick a challenger to prime minister Silvio Berlusconi at a forthcoming general election.
Mr Prodi won almost 75 per cent of the US-style vote, while his nearest rival among the six other candidates was veteran communist leader Fausto Bertinotti, who won barely 15 per cent.
Some 4.3 million people took part in Sunday's ballot, the centre-left said.
The unexpectedly heavy turnout in Italy's first ever primary underscored Mr Prodi's popularity and suggested deep-rooted discontent with Mr Berlusconi, analysts said.
Mr Prodi is the only person to have beaten Mr Berlusconi in a general election, leading the centre-left to victory in a 1996 ballot.
But his government only survived two years and he subsequently became European Commission president.
He returned to domestic politics a year ago and pushed to hold Italy's first ever primaries in an effort to stamp his authority on the splintered, argumentative opposition.
"The response has been incredible. It's a dream," said a delighted Mr Prodi. "It's no fluke if more than four million people came out to vote. It shows there is a huge desire for change."
Justice minister Roberto Castelli questioned the large number of voters, which was four times the most optimistic forecasts, and accused the centre-left of inflating the figures.
"This is a perfect example of Soviet-style political campaigning," he told reporters.
The importance of the primaries has been partially undermined by last-minute government moves to reform Italy's election system ahead of the April 2006 ballot.
The reform, which will almost certainly be approved by parliament before the end of the year, will introduce a complex form of proportional representation that critics say is tailor-made to help Mr Berlusconi at the elections.
Recent opinion polls have forecast that the centre-left would secure a handsome victory under the old voting system, but Mr Berlusconi's coalition tends to perform better in PR ballots.
Sunday's primary was overshadowed by the mafia-style killing of Francesco Fortugno, the vice-president of the regional government of Calabria, who was shot dead minutes after voting in the primary.