Prodi crowned opposition leader

ROME - Former European Commission President Romano Prodi was crowned yesterday as the opposition leader to take on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the next general election after triumphing in the centre-left primaries.

Prodi won almost 75 per cent of the vote.

His nearest rival among the six other candidates was veteran Italian Communist leader Fausto Bertinotti, who took just 15 per cent.

Just over 4 million people took part in the national ballot, far more than anyone had expected, giving Prodi's leadership overwhelming approval ahead of a general election, which is due by May.

"The response has been incredible. It's a dream," said Prodi, who returned to domestic politics at the end of last year after his stint in Brussels and has so far struggled to stamp his authority on the splintered centre-left.

However, the poll was clouded by the Mafia-style killing of Francesco Fortugno, the 54-year-old vice-president of the regional government of the southern region of Calabria, who was shot minutes after voting.

Politicians from across the political spectrum denounced the murder - the first of its kind in Calabria for 16 years.

Calabria is home to the 'ndrangheta, a virulent and powerful local version of the Mafia.

The regional council of Calabria recently sued the 'ndrangheta for millions of euros, alleging damage to the image and economy of the region.

Centre-left leaders said the heavy turnout at Italy's first ever primary vote showed people were anxious to rid themselves of Berlusconi, who stormed to power in 2001 but has seen his popularity fall as the Italian economy falters.

"Such a high turnout gives an explicit and unequivocal demand for change - a demand for a breath of fresh air," said Piero Fassino, head of the largest opposition party, the Democrats of the Left, which supported Prodi's candidacy.

Berlusconi himself has resisted calls to hold centre-right primaries and his supporters said the vote had been rendered meaningless by a change to the electoral system that the Government looks set to introduce by the end of the year.

The reform will usher in a complex version of proportional representation for the 2006 election that opposition leaders say was devised to help Berlusconi, whose allies traditionally perform more strongly in such PR votes.

Recent opinion polls forecast that the centre-left would have secured a handsome victory under the old voting system, but would do less well with the new system, which puts less of an emphasis on the coalition leaders.

- REUTERS, INDEPENDENT