Silvio Berlusconi acts as if he has already won Italy's election but centre-left rival Walter Veltroni told voters yesterday the media tycoon was "no statesman" and had a poor record on the economy.
Voters complain there is little to choose between their platforms as both candidates promise to lower taxes to boost demand and fend off a looming recession in the euro zone's third biggest economy.
Mr Berlusconi, the 71-year-old owner of AC Milan soccer club, is confident of winning a third term as prime minister in Sunday and Monday's vote. But Mr Veltroni attacked Berlusconi's economic record and his fondness for jokes, like making the two-fingered Latin gesture for a cuckold behind the head of a Spanish minister in 2002.
"Italy is a serious country and doesn't need a premier who sticks up his fingers or tells dirty jokes at European summits," said 52-year-old Mr Veltroni on the last day of campaigning. "He's not a statesman. That's what all the international papers say."
Mr Veltroni quoted the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development as saying that "in the five years from 2001-2006 (when Berlusconi was in office) Italy was at a standstill".
The International Monetary Fund expects the economy to grow at just 0.3 per cent this year. Ahead of a midnight deadline after which politicians are banned from campaigning, both candidates appeared on a TV chat show to deliver their final pleas for votes. In one last sweetener, Mr Berlusconi said he would abolish car and motorbike tax, but only if the Treasury could find the cash.
Mr Veltroni stressed the theme of his campaign - that he is the candidate of change. "This country will have for the first time in its history a great reformist Democratic Party that I'm sure will be the first party in Italy."
With few differences perceived between the frontrunners, up to 30 per cent of voters were undecided in the last published polls - meaning Berlusconi's lead is by no means secure.