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/ 15 April 2008

Berlusconi sweeps back to power in Italy election

Silvio Berlusconi has won his third Italian election with a bigger-than-expected swing to the centre right, but the media magnate said it would not be easy to solve deep economic problems. Votes were still being counted on Tuesday, but with Berlusconi’s victory clear on Monday evening, centre-left leader Walter Veltroni called to concede defeat.

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/ 14 April 2008

Berlusconi set for comeback as Italian PM

Self-made billionaire Silvio Berslusconi looked set to secure a third term as Italian prime minister on Monday, with exit polls predicting a narrow win for his conservative coalition in general elections. The exit polls, which came moments after voting ended, predicted the 71-year-old media magnate’s centre-right coalition would win.

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/ 11 April 2008

Berlusconi pleads for big election majority

Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday appealed to Italian voters to give him a huge majority at the general election on Sunday and Monday. He said that ”to really govern” he needed a margin of at least 20 seats in the Senate, the Upper House of the Italian Parliament. That would allow him ”to take, if necessary, difficult and unpopular decisions”.

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/ 6 February 2008

Italy dissolves Parliament, election looms

Italy’s president dissolved Parliament on Wednesday and the caretaker government prepared to call a snap election, likely in mid-April, that could mark a return to power of media magnate Silvio Berlusconi. President Giorgio Napolitano’s bid for cross-party support to reform Italy’s messy voting rules before a fresh election met stiff resistance from Berlusconi.

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/ 19 November 2007

Berlusconi dumps allies, aims for 2008 vote

Italy’s opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi has dumped his right-wing allies in a bid to form a new centrist force that he hopes can carry him back to power at an early election. In an interview Berlusconi explained his surprise decision to dissolve his ”House of Freedoms” alliance with Catholics, separatists and post-fascists.