Berlusconi to target immigrant crime in Italy

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Silvio Berlusconi pledged onTuesday to use his big election win to push through economicreforms, and vowed to close the border to illegal immigrants ina crackdown on criminals he called "the army of evil".

The 71-year-old conservative secured a third term as primeminister but owed his majority in parliament to the support ofthe xenophobic Northern League, which won 8 percent of votes.

In comments likely to be applauded by the League, hepromised tough measures against crime, blamed by many Italianson illegal immigrants, as well as an Italian rescue forAlitalia airline and an end to a garbage crisis in Naples.

"One of the first things to do is to close the frontiersand set up more camps to identify foreign citizens who don'thave jobs and are forced into a life of crime," Berlusconisaid.

"Secondly we need more local police constituting an 'armyof good' in the piazzas and streets to come between Italianpeople and the army of evil," he said in a televisioninterview.

Incomplete results from Sunday and Monday's vote made theLeague the third-largest force after Berlusconi's People ofFreedom and the defeated Democratic Party of Walter Veltroni.

The anti-immigrant Northern League's leader, Umberto Bossi,told La Stampa newspaper the government must overhaul tax lawsand crack down on illegal immigration or risk its anger. "Nowwe need to do reforms, or we will lose our patience," he said.

ITALY'S "BERLIN WALL"

A drubbing for the far left means Italy will not have acommunist or socialist lawmaker in parliament for the firsttime in recent memory. The League's deputy leader RobertoMaroni said this meant "the Berlin Wall has now fallen in Italytoo".

Parliament has been purged of tiny parties which, foryears, held governing coalitions hostage. Romano Prodi quit asprime minister in January after a small Catholic partydefected.

"This framework is good news: the blackmailing power ofsmaller parties has been drastically reduced, and Italy is nowmore aligned to the experience of several other Europeancountries," said UniCredit bank economist Marco Valli.

There will now be only six parties in parliament, asopposed to more than 20 after the 2006 election.

"Now we'll govern like major Western democracies, with onemajor party in power and one major party in opposition," saidBerlusconi. "With the extremists gone ... we'll operateextremely quickly in parliament and get to work modernisingthis country."

"I don't know what tiredness is," he added. "I'm at my deskat 7.15 a.m. exuding energy from every pore."

Although many Italians are disillusioned with politics anddoubt any government can quickly cure the ills of the EuropeanUnion's fourth-largest economy, Berlusconi's strong positionshould help him to push reforms through parliament.

His campaign pledges included tax cuts on first homes andon overtime income to help consumers and boost growth.

But economists say that when he was last prime ministerfrom 2001-2006, Berlusconi failed to carry out meaningfulreforms and let the budget deficit grow. They also point outthat his main allies are protectionist parties who may blocksome reforms.

One ratings agency warned that tax cuts not matched bylower spending would risk "renewed deterioration" in theaccounts of the country with the third highest public debt inthe world.

Fitch analyst Brian Coulton said resorting to tax amnestiesas Berlusconi did in the past would be "a retrograde step".

Berlusconi promised the Northern League at least twocabinet seats, Giulio Tremonti will return as economy ministryand EU justice chief Franco Frattini is lined up as foreignminister.

(Additional reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by TimothyHeritage and Richard Meares)