Berlusconi wint Italiaanse verkiezingen (en)
Silvio Berlusconi has won the parliamentary elections in Italy, vowing to lead the country through the "difficult" years ahead.
According to early results confirmed by the country's interior ministry, Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition took 46.5 percent of the vote in the lower house Chamber of Deputies against 38 percent won by the centre-left party led by Rome's mayor Walter Veltroni.
Reacting to the news of his victory in a telephone interview with the Italian public TV Rai on Monday night (14 April), Mr Berlusconi said, "The months and years ahead will be difficult and I am preparing a government ready to last five years."
Among his top and most timely priorities, the media tycoon and rich businessman mentioned the sale of the state-controlled Italy's airline Alitalia as well as tackling a long-standing garbage crisis in Naples.
But analysts suggest his key test will be healing his country's deep economic problems, epitomized by a public debt bigger than Italy's gross domestic product, and gloomy growth projections for the coming years.
Critics point out that he had already failed to address similar economic challenges during his two previous terms as Italy's prime minister, first only for seven months in 1994 and then between 2001 and 2006.
Although he may have an advantage of around 99 seats in the 630-member lower house and up to 30 seats in the 322-strong Senate, compared to the two-seat Senate majority of the centre-left outgoing government, Mr Berlusconi's coalition is expected to have some different views on economy.
His junior coalition partner, the anti-immigration Northern League - which doubled its votes on Sunday and Monday election to around 8 percent - previously proved rather protectionist while the would-be prime minister has said he wants liberalize Italy's economy.
Mr Berlusconi said he is planning to form a cabinet with 12 ministers, including four women. Franco Frattini, currently EU justice commissioner, is to become his foreign minister while Giulio Tremonti will be appointed as economy minister.
European credentials
Following the previous experiences with the eccentric centre-right politician, some in Europe are also expecting tough or at least colourful times with Italy under Mr Berlusconi's leadership.
In 2003, Italy made the most unusual opening of its six-month EU presidency when the prime minister told German Socialist MEP Martin Schulz, currently the chief of the centre-left group in the European Parliament, that he should play the role of the kapo (guard) in an Italian film about concentration camps.
More gaffes followed as he was quoted as making the case for investing in Italy at the New York Stock Exchange by arguing he believes the country's secretaries are "beautiful" and "superb girls".
Similarly, he caused a diplomatic row with Finland in 2005, after telling the press he had used all his "playboy skills and courted the Finnish President" Tarja Halonen to get Helsinki's support for a plan to set up the European Food Authority in Italy.
Mr Berlusconi's records also include pre-election rhetoric against the euro, referring to the single European currency as a "disaster" and a "rip-off" that "screwed everybody" in an attack in 2005 on the then opposition leader and former European Commission president, Romano Prodi.
In a previous poll which he had lost to Mr Prodi, he had spiced up his fight for votes by promising to abstain from sex until after election day, or comparing himself to Churchill, Napoleon and Jesus Christ.
Following his victory last night after a somewhat less controversial campaign, Mr Berlusconi finished off his TV interview by sending "an affectionate kiss to all Italians."