July 16, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A coalition of centre-right parties is ahead in Italy's political scene, according to a poll by Ekma Ricerche Srl. 49.4 per cent of respondents would vote for the House of Freedom (Casa) in the next election to the Chamber of Deputies, down 0.6 points since June.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A coalition of centre-right parties is ahead in Italy's political scene, according to a poll by Ekma Ricerche Srl. 49.4 per cent of respondents would vote for the House of Freedom (Casa) in the next election to the Chamber of Deputies, down 0.6 points since June.

The governing centre-left Union (Unione) is in second place with 44.7 per cent. The Union of Christian and Centre-Democrats (UDC) of Pier Ferdinando Casini would garner five per cent of the vote.

Italian voters renewed the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in April 2006. The Union, led by Romano Prodi, secured 348 seats in the lower house and 158 seats in the upper house. The victory put an end to a centre-right government 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.

On Jul. 10, during a two-day visit to the Middle East, Prodi called on Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas to restore their broken relationship and said their current squabbles are undermining the chances of establishing a Palestinian state. The prime minister, who backs the Fatah-led government in the West Bank, declared: "The Palestinian people must remain united in the shared aim of establishing an independent, democratic and vibrant Palestinian state which can live in peace and security with Israel."

Polling Data

Voting Intention - Chamber of Deputies

	Jul. 2007	Jun. 2007	May 2007
House of Freedom (Centre-Right) Forwards Italy (Forza Italia) National Alliance (AN) Northern League (LN) Christian Democracy (DC) and New Italian Socialist Party (Nuovo PSI) Other centre-right	49.4%	50.0%	46.0%
Union (Centre-Left) Democrats of the Left (DS) Democracy and Liberty (La Margherita) Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) Italian Democratic Socialist (SDI) Popular Alliance (UDEUR) Party of Italian Communists (PCI) Green Federation (Verdi) Italian Socialist Party of Craxi (PSI-Craxi) Italy of Values (Lista di Pietro) Middle-of-the-Road Italy (Italia di Mezzo) Other centre-left	44.7%	44.0%	46.8%
Union of Christian and Centre-Democrats (UDC)	5.0%	5.5%	7.0%
Other parties	0.9%	0.5%	0.2%

Source: Ekma Ricerche Srl
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Italian adults, conducted on Jul. 4 and Jul. 5, 2007. No margin of error was provided.