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Italy's caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti unveils the logo of his newly-born coalition set to race at upcoming national elections in Rome, Jan. 4, 2013. (Xinhua/Alberto Lingria)
The main candidates to take over as prime minister after next month's vote are starting to outline their plans for governance, with incumbent Mario Monti vowing he would repeal an unpopular property tax, predecessor Silvio Berlusconi saying he would be willing to take a lesser role in the government, and Pier Luigi Bersani, the favorite, indicating his government would include all his coalition members.
The remarks from the leading candidates are the latest sign yet that election season in Italy is now in full force.
Italian voters will go to the polls on Feb. 24-25, and it is most likely that after the vote either Monti, Berlusconi, or Bersani will be asked to form a government coalition. All three are now working to explain to voters why they believe they would govern better than their rivals.
"We are starting the middle game of the election cycle," explained Maria Rossi, co-director of the polling firm Opinioni. "Each man is trying to define himself in the eyes of potential voters."
To be sure, all three are already well known to most Italians. But yet, according to Opinioni results, almost 40 percent of voters remain undecided about who they will eventually vote for. Bersani appears to have the upper hand at the moment, but Rossi said it could still prove to be anyone's election.
"The number of undecided voters, or those who say they could change their mind, to say anyone is a clear favorite," Rossi said.
Bersani has said the least about his plans for governing, except that he would ignore Monti's call to abandon the most extreme parts of his coalition in favor of a more centrist stance.
In a compromise with likely coalition partners, Berlusconi said he would be open to accepting a minister-level position if his coalition wins -- most likely Minister of Finance, a position he has held before -- and that the decision who would be prime minister could be decided at a later date (Angelino Alfano, previously Berlusconi's hand-picked successor, is the most likely candidate). The deal allowed him to pull in support of the separatist Northern League, a former coalition partner that Berlusconi needs in order to have a chance for victory.
Monti's plans, however, are clearer. And they are also more relevant, since he is still acting prime minister, meaning he has the power to shift government policy in that direction. The economist and former European Commissioner, who had until now balked at putting a specific timetable on any plans to reduce taxes, said that property taxes he put in place should be "restructured and modified" this year.
Monti also said that a planned 1-percent increase in the country's value-added tax could be avoided by "saying 'no' to special interests," and he said the government should "reduce taxes on the labor force, both on workers and on companies, through further reductions in (government) spending."
Monti, who took office as the head of a technocratic government 14 months ago, has largely been successful at pulling Italy back from the brink of the European debt crisis. But while he remains respected abroad he is less popular in Italy, where his austerity plans, including reduced government spending and higher taxes, have hurt every-day Italians.
His vow to reduce taxes could help, but bad unemployment figures released Tuesday are also likely to hurt.
Interestingly, it is Berlusconi who could help Monti the most. According to analyst Roberto D'Alimonte, Berlusconi's chances of winning are near zero, but his coalition could rob enough votes from Bersani and his allies to help hand Monti the election.
"Berlusconi is going to play the spoiler," D'Alimonte predicted. "Without Berlusconi, it would probably be Bersani's election."
