Exit polls released after two days of voting in Italy indicated that centre-left challenger Romano Prodi had defeated incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, ending the media tycoon's five-year grip on power. Prodi's multi-party coalition, spanning Communists, Catholics, and liberals, was projected to win majorities in both parliamentary chambers, capturing roughly 50 to 54 percent of the vote against 45 to 49 percent for Berlusconi's House of Freedoms bloc.
Supporters gathered at Prodi's campaign headquarters in celebration, though officials held off on a formal victory declaration. One Forza Italia senator acknowledged the outcome, saying his coalition had expected losses given its poor showing in local elections since 2001. Berlusconi, Italy's wealthiest citizen, stayed at his private estate near Milan while awaiting final official tallies.
The campaign was marked by bitter exchanges, including Berlusconi's use of a vulgar slur against opposition voters, a move analysts suggested may have driven turnout against him. Prodi, a 66-year-old economist and former European Commission president, centered his platform on fiscal discipline, unemployment, the cost of living, and withdrawing Italian forces from Iraq. Berlusconi had countered with a promise to eliminate a residential property tax.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.