Local elections across Italy on Sunday and Monday will test public sentiment for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi two years after he swept to power and months after he supported the U.S.-led war against Iraq.
About 12.5 million Italians–about a quarter of the electorate–are eligible to vote in the balloting for two regional governments, 508 town councils and 12 provinces, including Rome and Palermo.
Results will not be announced until after polls close Monday afternoon. For candidates who fail to win a 50 percent majority, runoffs will be held in two weeks.
The vote comes at a delicate time for Berlusconi. He is on trial in Milan on corruption charges, leading the billionaire to fight a political battle for immunity laws that would put the proceedings on hold while he serves as premier. And Berlusconi kept Italy aligned with the U.S. in the Iraq war, although opinion surveys said most Italians opposed military action.
