Italians vote in parliamentary election which pits centre-left leader and
former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni against one of Italy's richest men,
conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi, who is seeking a third term as prime
minister.
    
ROME, ITALY (APRIL 13, 2008) REUTERS -

Polls in Italy closed on Sunday (April 13) after the first day of
voting in a parliamentary election that could bring media magnate Silvio
Berlusconi back to power for the third time to tackle a deep economic and
social malaise. His main challenger is centre-left leader Walter Veltroni, who
portrays himself as a man of change, but his promises to make modest tax cuts
and get tough on crime are similar to the pledges made by the conservative
71-year-old billionaire.
    The polls will re-open for the second and final day of voting on Monday
(April 14) at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and close at 3 p.m. (1300GMT) with exit polls
expected immediately and preliminary results two hours later. 
    Berlusconi was applauded as he swept past voters in his home town,
Milan, cast his ballot and kissed a three-year-old boy.
    "Save us, Silvio," one voter shouted.
    Veltroni, 52, the low-key leader of the Democratic Party and former
mayor of Rome, waited in a long queue in the Italian capital until officials
let him through to vote.
    "Things are fine," he said as he walked past a group of
reporters gathered at the polling station.
    Many of Italy's 47 million voters are gloomy about the prospects for
economic recovery and political stability as they select their 62nd government
since World War Two, especially as election laws make it hard for anyone to
win a clear majority.
    "I don't care who wins. I just want a government that lasts,"
said 54-year-old teacher Francesco Antonazzi, voting in Rome when booths
opened at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT). They shut at 3 p.m. on Monday and the result
could be clear a few hours later.
    Fausto Bertinotti, leader of the Rainbow Left coalition, is trailing
front-runners, with practically no chance of getting the top job, but might
become the maker or breaker of any future Italian coalition government.
    According to opinion polls,  the party he heads could be the third
largest voting bloc in the next parliament.
    Complex voting rules, introduced by Berlusconi, will make it hard for
any of the parties to win a clear majority.
    Although Veltroni and Berlusconi, the only ones with a real chance of
being premier, both deny they might form a 'Grand Coalition' to reform voting
rules and create a two-party system, a close race could force the winner into
a coalition with smaller parties.