Bersani will need Monti to carry Senate, study finds
Berlusconi likely to win Lombardy, Veneto, Sicily
25 January, 15:06
(ANSA) - Rome, January 25 - The center right led by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi is poised to win the Senate race in three key regions, while the center left is likely to require the support of outgoing Premier Mario Monti after general elections in Italy on February 24 and 25, according to new data Friday. In a poll conducted by the Piepoli Institute for Italian daily La Stampa, Berlusconi's coalition would win the populous regions of Lombardy and Veneto in the north and Sicily in the south. In the 319-seat Senate, Pierluigi Bersani's center-left coalition would fall 15 seats short of a majority. Given the addition of four Senators for Life, the threshold needed to win a majority is 158.
An alliance with the centrist coalition of Monti would give the center left another 38 Senators, according to predictions. In the House, Bersani and the center left can count on 340 seats, and thus have a clear majority without broadening their alliance, according to the data.
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