Italians go to the polls on March 4 with voters divided over the country’s relationship with the European Union, taxes and immigration. Here’s your daily guide to the latest news.
Analysts insist that a grand coalition of the two biggest mainstream forces is the most likely outcome of the ballot, but Silvio Berlusconi is having none of it. “We are not Germany,” Forza Italia’s 81-year-old, four-time prime minister said. He added that he’s ready to return for a fifth term when his ban on holding public office expires next year.
His center-right coalition was ahead when a polling blackout began on Feb. 17. But its backing fell short of a parliamentary majority, and now it’s anyone’s guess whether voters will either push his coalition over the line or make a German-style compromise of Forza Italia and Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party irresistible.
