(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Three-in-five adults in Italy are satisfied with Silvio Berlusconi, according to a poll by IPR Marketing published in La Repubblica. 60 per cent of respondents express confidence in their prime minister, up five points since July.

Italian voters renewed the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in April. Final results gave Berlusconi’s right-wing coalition—encompasing the Italian People of Freedom Party (PdL), the Northern League (LN), and the Movement for Autonomy (MPA)—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.

Berlusconi—Italy’s richest man—was sworn in as the country’s new head of government in May. He had previously served as prime minister from May 1994 to January 1995, and from June 2001 to May 2006.

Last year, an auction to sell state-owned airline Alitalia ended with no buyer after seven months of bidding. Alitalia filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and the Italian government has been unable to sell its 49.9 per cent stake in the company.

On Sept. 22, Berlusconi denounced unions who rejected a buy-out deal that would have cut 3,000 jobs and would have entailed longer work hours, saying, "They [the unions] are a bunch of irresponsible people. (...) They’re not taking into account the good of the country and the social troubles that could be provoked’’ by the airline’s failure.

Polling Data

Do you have confidence in Silvio Berlusconi?

Source: IPR Marketing / La Repubblica
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Italian adults, conducted from Sept. 13 to Sept. 15, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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