The already warm Italian electoral atmosphere became more heated yesterday on a day when both major players, centre-left leader Mr Francesco Rutelli and centre-right opposition leader Mr Silvio Berlusconi, made serious campaign waves.
With the general election just three weeks away, Mr Rutelli gave an aggressive presentation of his government programme, stressing both the centre-left's achievements over the last five years and attacking the potential conflict of interest between Mr Berlusconi the head of government and Mr Berlusconi the media tycoon.
Speaking at the national conference of his centre-left Ulivo ("Olive tree") coalition in Rome, Mr Rutelli defied current opinion poll readings by saying that he was fast closing the gap on Mr Berlusconi and that he would win the May 13th election.
Among the centre-left's achievements, Mr Rutelli cited the creation of 1.2 million jobs; the halving of mortgage interest rates from 10 per cent to 5 per cent; benefits for single mothers; an improved national mail service; the ending of the state telephone monopoly; the provision of one computer per 15 schoolchildren; and Italy's entrance into the euro.
Restating his campaign promise to implement income tax exemption for families with a total income of less than £18,000 a year, Mr Rutelli argued that his government programme would present social and economic policies "for the many" and not "for the privileged few".
While Mr Rutelli was rousing the electoral troops, Mr Berlusconi was claiming that he had been the object of threats to his person, threats which had forced him to delay his Forza Italia party congress.
The Italian Prime Minister, Mr Giuliano Amato, said he expected Mr Berlusconi to solve his conflict of interest problem if he wins.