Berlusconi Suffers Election Setback as Milan Poised to Fall to Opposition

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s alliance with his key Northern League ally suffered a setback after losses in Italian local voting, raising the chances of an early national election.

Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti, Berlusconi’s candidate, trailed rival Giuliano Pisapia 41.6 percent to 48 percent in the race to control city hall in the premier’s hometown, preliminary results showed. The two will face a runoff May 29-30. Piero Fassino, of the opposition Democratic Party, was poised to win the mayoral seat in Turin, a manufacturing center that is home to Fiat SpA, while the opposition also won in Bologna. The ruling bloc failed to avoid a runoff in Naples.

The outcome is “a crushing defeat for Berlusconi and a clear sign of the rising discontent,” Lavinia Santovetti, an economist at Nomura International in London, said in an e-mail. The League “has implicitly lost along with Berlusconi,” making it hard for their ruling alliance to “continue as if nothing has happened” and keep governing until the parliamentary term expires in 2013.

As Berlusconi grapples with the fallout from corruption charges and allegations he paid for sex with a minor, the outcome was seen as a bellwether of his support in battleground cities such as Bologna, Naples, Turin and his base, Milan. He staked his personal reputation on the Milan race, putting himself at the head of his party’s ticket to bolster support for Moratti. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-16/berlusconi-suffers-election-setback-as-milan-poised-to-fall-to-opposition.html

[DavidDvorkin]

1. Even if he's ousted from office

he'll still control much of the media, won't he? That was what made him dangerous in the first place.