Voting has ended in Italy's general election, with wildly conflicting projections pointing to a far closer race than initially thought, after a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by a spate of corruption scandals involving all the major parties.
Italy's general election descended into chaos on Monday amid conflicting reports pointing first to a victory for the centre-left alliance of Pier Luigi Bersani and then for Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right bloc.
As voting ended at 3pm on Monday, exit polls for the key Senate race gave the centre-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani between 36% and 38% of the vote, followed by Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right bloc (30%-32%) and the anti-establishment movement of firebrand comedian Beppe Grillo (17%-19%).
But less than an hour later, early results pointed to yet another spectacular comeback by the “Cavaliere”.
Final results for the Senate are expected later in the afternoon. Election officials will then begin counting votes cast for the lower house of parliament.
A complex electoral system, dubbed “porcellum” (or pigsty), means all eyes will be on a handful of hotly contested Senate races, including in Lombardy, Sicily and the Campania region around Naples.
The inconclusive poll follows a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by a spate of corruption scandals involving all the major parties.
The reports fueled anger among voters burdened by unpopular austerity measures and surging unemployment.
Even by the self-deprecating standards of Italy, the frustration and despair sensed at polling stations appeared to have reached unprecedented levels.
“We are in economic, cultural and moral decline, so it is no surprise our politics go the same way,” said one voter outside Florence's Liceo Machiavelli.
Read more: talian polit
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