(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The governing alliance of right-wing parties has high public support in Italy, according to a poll by Crespi Ricerche. 50.5 per cent of respondents would vote for the Italian People of Freedom Party (PdL), the Northern League (LN), or the Movement for Autonomy (MPA) in the next election to the Chamber of Deputies.

The left-leaning alliance encompassing the Democratic Party (PD) and Italy of Values (Lista di Pietro) is second with 36.4 per cent. Support is lower for the Union of the Centre, the Left Rainbow (SA), The Right (La Destra), and the Socialist Party (PS).

Italian voters renewed the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in April. Final results gave Berlusconi’s right-wing coalition 344 seats in the lower house, and 174 seats in the upper house. The victory put an end to the government of the centre-left Union (Unione), headed by Romano Prodi.

Earlier this month, Berlusconi’s government sent 3,000 military troops to patrol city streets across the country as part of a plan to curb crime and illegal immigration.

On Aug. 15, an editorial by the popular Catholic weekly Famiglia Cristiana decried what it called the government’s attempts to pinpoint immigrants and Roma peoples as criminals, saying it was to be hoped that fascism was not "resurfacing in our country under another guise."

Two days later, Pope Benedict XVI echoed the editorial, calling for Catholics to help others stay away from "racism, intolerance and exclusion", adding that, "One of humanity’s great conquests is the overcoming of racism. Unfortunately, however, there are new and worrying examples of this in various countries, often linked to social and economic problems that nonetheless can never justify contempt or racial discrimination." Both comments prompted strong condemnation by the Berlusconi administration.

Polling Data

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

Source: Crespi Ricerche
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Italian adults, conducted from Jul. 25 to Jul. 28, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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