Renzi's PD ahead in EP polls

(ANSA) - Rome, April 18 - If European elections were held today, nearly 60% of the vote would be divided between Italy's ruling Democratic Party (PD) and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, a new poll said Friday. According to the Ixè institute in a study for Rai3 chat show Agorà, the center-left PD of Premier Matteo Renzi currently holds 32.8% of the popular vote, up 0.6% since last week, while the M5S of comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo has 25.8% of the vote, also up 0.6%. Party's like Grillo's, with a prominent anti-Europe message, are expected to do well at European Parliament elections on May 25. The center-right Forza Italia of three-time premier Silvio Berlusconi currently has 18% of public support, Ixè said, though pundits say the media magnate's recent community service sentence for tax fraud at a senior center could help his numbers, especially since the ruling allows him to commute between Rome and Milan three days out of the week for purposes that may include campaigning. A center-right alliance headed by former Berlusconi dauphin and current Interior Minister Angelino Alfano stands to win 5.5% of the vote. The regionalist Northern League, which has an open partnership with Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front in France, stands to draw 5.2%, according to Ixè. Pollsters surveyed 1,000 people among a broad spectrum of society, Ixè said, which foresaw a 3.1% margin of error.