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Prodi wins nationwide primary

ROME: Italian Opposition leader Romano Prodi won overwhelming support in a nationwide primary that confirmed him as the Centre-Left candidate for Italy's general elections next year, results showed on Monday. With 92.4 per cent of 10,000 polling stations reporting, results showed Mr. Prodi won 74.6 per cent of the vote. Mr. Prodi's widely expected victory set the stage for a clash with Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who is likely to remain at the helm of the conservatives, in the mid-2006 vote. The two are old foes who faced off in another election a decade ago, which Mr. Prodi won. Sunday's primary drew some 4 million Centre-Left supporters to the polls, news agencies reported. Mr. Prodi hailed the result as a victory of democracy and a vote of protest against policies enacted by Mr. Berlusconi's Government. Mr. Prodi, a former Italian Premier and European Commission President, was up against six other candidates who posed virtually no challenge to him. Veteran Communist leader Fausto Bertinotti came in second with 14.6 per cent, the results showed. The Centre-Left hopes to oust Mr. Berlusconi in the mid-2006 general election. — AP

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