Politics & Economics: Center-Left Appears to Unseat Italy's Berlusconi; If Thin Victory Stands, Winner Prodi Would Face Tough Opposition Coalition
Rome -- IN AN ELECTION that came down to a handful of votes, Italy's center-left coalition leader Romano Prodi appeared to eke out a narrow victory -- but by such a razor-thin margin that it is unlikely his longtime adversary, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, will be consigned to the sidelines.</br></br>Mr. Berlusconi, speaking on national television yesterday evening, refused to concede defeat and suggested that it might be necessary to form a coalition government with his political foes. He also spoke of "numerous irregularities" in the voting, without being more specific.</br></br>About half a million ballots were declared invalid, and if they are re-examined, as members of Mr. Berlusconi's coalition have demanded, it is possible the outcome of the vote could flip. A recount could prompt a period of political uncertainty and lead to a contested final outcome -- a situation analogous to the protracted stalemate between George W. Bush and Al Gore following the U.S. presidential election in 2000.</br></br>In addition, the vote leaves room for the 69-year-old Mr. Berlusconi, who has made a career of defying the odds, to wield tremendous influence on the political stage. Even if Mr. Prodi's lead is confirmed, his thin margin will make it difficult to push through any of the economic restructuring measures many economists believe the country badly needs.</br></br>"Before this election we were hoping that we'd be able to assess the strategy of the new government, whoever they were, for dealing with [Italy's] public finance problems," said Brian Coulton, a Fitch ratings analyst. "Now there's the risk that it will be impossible to have any kind of strategy."