Romano Prodi claimed victory yesterday over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy's parliamentary elections and said he would form a "strong" government -- even though the official vote count had not been completed and Berlusconi refused to concede.
While the Interior Ministry had not declared a winner, near-final returns indicated Prodi's center-left coalition had captured the Senate, giving him the victory in both houses of parliament. The tally depended on the six Senate seats being decided by Italians living overseas. Near complete returns indicated Prodi's allies had captured four of them, giving him the margin he needed.
Prodi told a news conference that his government would be "politically and technically" strong, rebutting concerns about an apparent slim margin of victory. The former European Commission president also said his government would put Europe at the center of its policies.
"This is a profoundly European result, and as I said, Europe will be the center of the policy of my government," Prodi said, also promising "constructive relations with the United States."
Berlusconi's camp, however, hadn't conceded the election and had called for a recount in the lower Chamber of Deputies, where final results gave Prodi's coalition a razor-thin margin of 25,000 votes over some 38 million cast.
Final returns yesterday for the chamber showed Prodi winning by one-tenth of a percentage point: 49.8 to 49.7 percent. By law, 55 percent of seats are awarded to the overall winner, regardless of the scale of victory, giving Prodi's forces at least 340 of the 630 seats.
Berlusconi's allies held a one-seat advantage in the Senate, with 155 seats to Prodi's 154. But Prodi's forces are expected to win four more seats, Berlusconi's allies one and an independent party one, giving Prodi the majority.
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