Berlusconi stays defiant despite fresh ballot blow

Center-left Romano Prodi moved a step closer to becoming the next Italian premier when the Interior Ministry sharply lowered the number of contested ballots in the closely fought election, boosting the likelihood that his narrow victory will stand.

On Friday Prodi reiterated his confidence, while Premier Silvio Berlusconi refused to concede.

"The match is over," Prodi, speaking from Bologna where he was spending Easter weekend, was quoted as saying by Italian agency Apcom. "Now let's move on."

Berlusconi he had not spoken to Prodi and indicated he had no intention of conceding.

"We carry on, we'll resist," he told a small group of supporters gathered outside his residence.

Later, leaving a soccer stadium on Friday evening where he watched his AC Milan soccer team defeat crosstown rival Inter, Berlusconi described himself as "an optimist, a fighter."

Referring the latest figures from the Interior Ministry, Berlusconi described those numbers as "provisional."

"I am waiting, holding my breath, as is half of Italy, as well as the other half, that these blessed results come out," the ANSA news agency quoted the premier as saying at the end of the game.

In a letter due to be published yesterday in Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Berlusconi insisted the situation was stalled.

"At least on the basis of the popular vote, there's no winner and no loser," Italian news agencies quoted the letter as saying.

Italy been mired in political uncertainty since millions of citizens cast ballots in the April 9-10 elections. Prodi's center-left won a razor-thin majority in both houses of parliament, but Berlusconi alleged irregularities and demanded thorough checks.

On Friday, the Interior Ministry announced that there were only about 5,200 contested ballots -- compared to the over 80,000 previously indicated -- dashing Berlusconi's hopes of retaining power.

The new figures were not enough for the premier's conservatives to reverse the electoral result, even with a gap as narrow as the one dividing the two coalitions.

The Interior Ministry explained the confusion by saying that null or blank ballots had been lumped in by mistake with the contested ballots, which are those where the voting intentions are not immediately clear.