Italy: With senior coalition allies yesterday distancing themselves from defeated Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's protracted post-election angst seems headed for closure this weekend.
Even though Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party continues to contest the outcome of last weekend's general election, in which the centre-left Union coalition led by Romano Prodi emerged as a narrow winner, centre-right allies Alleanza Nazionale, the Northern League and the (ex-Christian Democrat) UDC all distanced themselves from Mr Berlusconi's accusations of electoral fraud.
On Tuesday, when the initial count was over, Mr Berlusconi demanded a recount of 82,850 contested votes, with most interest focusing on 43,028 Chamber of Deputy votes. The centre-left won the chamber by just under 25,000 votes, polling 49.8 per cent of the vote as opposed to the 49.7 per cent scored by Mr Berlusconi's coalition.
Under Italian law the recount has to be finished within 48 hours which, in this case, means by this evening. At that point, the local polling offices send the results of their recount to the Cassazione or Supreme Court, which is expected to deliver a final verdict this weekend.
Most observers, however, believe that the recount will not change Monday night's result, a point underlined by Mr Berlusconi's ally, the UDC, whose secretary Lorenzo Cesa said yesterday: "There's always been a recount of contested votes, but in the end it won't change the outcome of the election."
Northern League labour minister Roberto Maroni was even more emphatic: "The left has won the election and so it has not only the right but also the duty to govern, just as we have the right to form the opposition."
Even the Forza Italia electoral office seemed to step back away from Mr Berlusconi's accusations of "fraud", with election manager Denis Verdini saying yesterday: "We are asking for the normal verifications, we never spoke of fraud, only of normal mistakes."
Ignazio La Russa of Alleanza Nazionale sounded a similar note to his centre-right coalition partners: "As far as I know, there's been no fraud. I have heard of serious irregularities but that's hardly a novelty - they happen in every election."
With the recount in full swing, the centre-left last night criticised the attitude of Mr Berlusconi and interior minister Giuseppe Pisanu, the man with overall responsibility for the running of the election.
Piero Fassino, leader of Democratic Left, the largest party in Mr Prodi's coalition, told reporters: "Prodi and the centre-left won the election, but Berlusconi insists on not admitting defeat. Frankly, his behaviour is both incomprehensible and irresponsible. It is also surprising and alarming that the minister of the interior does not feel the need to defend his handling of the election. The fact that certain centre-right parties have distanced themselves [from Mr Berlusconi] in the last few hours is emphatic proof of just how unfounded his campaign has been."