March 23, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The centre-right Italian People of Freedom Party (PdL) has a clear advantage over its main competitor ahead of a national election, according to a poll by Digis. 40.4 per cent of respondents would vote for the coalition led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in next month’s election.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The centre-right Italian People of Freedom Party (PdL) has a clear advantage over its main competitor ahead of a national election, according to a poll by Digis. 40.4 per cent of respondents would vote for the coalition led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in next month’s election.

The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) is a close second with 34.5 per cent, followed by the Union of the Centre with 6.9 per cent, the Left Rainbow (SA) with 6.7 per cent, and the Northern League (LN) with 4.1 per cent. Support is lower for Italy of Values (Lista di Pietro), The Right (La Destra), the Socialist Party (PS), the Communist Workers Party (PCL), the Movement for Autonomy (MPA), and List for Life (Prolife).

Italian voters renewed the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in April 2006. The Union (Unione) of centre-left parties, led by Romano Prodi, secured 348 seats in the lower house and 158 seats in the upper house. The victory put an end to the government of the centre-right House of Freedom (Casa), headed by Silvio Berlusconi.

In May 2006, Prodi was formally appointed as prime minister. The Union leader had previously served as head of government from May 1996 to October 1998.

In January 2008, Prodi lost a confidence vote in Parliament and was forced to step down. After Senate president Franco Marini failed in his bid to form a caretaker administration, an early legislative election was scheduled for Apr. 13 and Apr. 14.

In October 2007, Veltroni assembled the PD with several centre-left political organizations. In November, Berlusconi announced the creation of the PdL.

On Mar. 17, Italy of Values leader and infrastructure minister Antonio di Pietro criticized the bid for state-owned airline Alitalia tendered by Air France-KLM, saying, "This is a proposal aimed only at creating profit for the bidder, that is harmful for the company, for the workers and for the country. Above all, the plan presented by the French humiliates an important hub like (the) Malpensa (airport)."

Polling Data

If the election were held today, which party would you vote for?

	Mar. 16	Mar. 9
Italian People of Freedom Party (PdL)	40.4%	41.1%
Democratic Party (PD)	34.5%	33.4%
Union of the Centre	6.9%	7.0%
Left Rainbow (SA)	6.7%	7.1%
Northern League (LN)	4.1%	4.6%
Italy of Values (Lista di Pietro)	3.7%	3.3%
The Right (La Destra)	1.6%	1.5%
Socialist Party (PS)	1.5%	1.4%
Communist Workers Party (PCL)	0.3%	0.3%
Movement for Autonomy (MPA)	0.2%	0.2%
List for Life (Prolife)	0.1%	0.1%

Source: Digis
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Italian adults, conducted on Mar. 15 and Mar. 16, 2008. No margin of error was provided.