March 18, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Italian People of Freedom Party (PdL) is the favourite political organization in the European country ahead of a national election, according to a poll by Crespi Ricerche. 34.5 per cent of respondents would vote for the centre-right party in next month’s legislative ballot.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Italian People of Freedom Party (PdL) is the favourite political organization in the European country ahead of a national election, according to a poll by Crespi Ricerche. 34.5 per cent of respondents would vote for the centre-right party in next month’s legislative ballot.

The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) is a close second with 31.8 per cent, followed by the Union of the Centre with 7.4 per cent, the Left Rainbow (SA) with seven per cent, and the Northern League (LN) with six per cent. Support is lower for Italy of Values (Lista di Pietro), The Right (La Destra), the Socialist Party (PS), the Movement for Autonomy (MPA), the Communist Workers Party (PCL), the Democratic Union for Consumers (UDPIC), and the Critical Left (SC).

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. 15, Veltroni promised to dramatically cut public spending and Italy’s debt if elected. Berlusconi commented on his speech afterwards, saying he agrees with his opponent on those two initiatives and declaring, "I don’t know what more to say. (...) This morning you had Mr. Veltroni explain my programme."

Polling Data

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

Italian People of Freedom Party (PdL)	34.5%
Democratic Party (PD)	31.8%
Union of the Centre	7.4%
Left Rainbow (SA)	7.0%
Northern League (LN)	6.0%
Italy of Values (Lista di Pietro)	3.0%
The Right (La Destra)	4.2%
Socialist Party (PS)	2.0%
Movement for Autonomy (MPA)	3.0%
Communist Workers Party (PCL)	0.4%
Democratic Union for Consumers (UDPIC)	0.2%
Critical Left (SC)	0.2%

Source: Crespi Ricerche
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Italian adults, conducted on Mar.10, 2008. Margin of error is 2.4 per cent.