Berlusconi Popularity Hits New Low, Would Lose Vote, Poll Shows

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s popularity fell to a record low as he pushed through austerity measures, according to a poll that also showed his ruling coalition would lose power if elections were held today.

Confidence in the billionaire premier fell five percentage points to 24 percent from the previous survey in June, Rome-based IPR Marketing said today. That’s the lowest since he took office in 2008. If elections were held now, 44 percent of Italians said they’d vote for the opposition, up from 42.5 percent, while support for the ruling parties declined to 37.5 percent from 39 percent.