ITALY: The man who aims to oust the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, yesterday accused his rival of trying to cheat and buy his way back into power at the next general election, which is less than six months away.
Opening his campaign with an unprecedentedly hard-hitting interview, Romano Prodi, the former president of the European commission, said Italy would be finished if the media tycoon were returned to office.
"If there is no change, Italy is finished, because this government is utterly incapable of taking bold decisions. The only laws that have made it through parliament, notwithstanding [ the right's] huge majority, have been those that have conferred an advantage either on the prime minister or his friends."
Mr Prodi said that although opinion polls put him clearly ahead, he had no illusions about the difficulties he faced.
"Berlusconi has already begun putting in an amount of money that has no precedent - and here I am not exaggerating - a sum of money that has no precedent, not just in the history of Italy, but in the history of Europe," he declared.
Mr Prodi said the prime minister's aides had spoken explicitly of a campaign fund of €1 million for every marginal constituency.