By Robin Pomeroy
ROME (Reuters) - Italians vote in an election on Sundaythat will hand media magnate Silvio Berlusconi or former Romemayor Walter Veltroni, two very different men with similarpolicies, the task of trying to cure Italy's economic malaise.
The economy, slowing towards stagnation, is the mainchallenge for the next prime minister. But his ability to carryout reforms may depend on a complex election law that makes ithard to win a clear majority in the upper house of parliament.
Flamboyant centre-right opposition leader Berlusconi,seeking a third term, and his low-key centre-left rival bothpromise modest tax cuts aimed at spurring consumption. Theyhave also both said Italy needs more police to tackle crime.
Berlusconi, 71, has consistently led opinion polls by 6-9percentage points but the outcome of the parliamentary electioncould be close, with up to a third of the 47.3 millionelectorate expected to chose who to vote for at the lastminute.
Veltroni, 52, has presented himself as the candidate forchange, copying the "Yes we can" slogan of U.S. presidentialhopeful Barack Obama.
Many Italians are gloomy as they vote for their 62ndgovernment since World War Two.
"I wasn't going to vote at first, but my girlfriend kepttelling me I should," said Flavio Rossi, a Milan waiter. "Myfather hasn't voted since 1990. Italy needs a complete makeoverand none of them are capable."
He said he would wait until he arrives at the polling boothto decide how to vote.
Voting starts at 8 a.m. (7:00 a.m. British time) on Sundayand ends at 3 p.m. on Monday. A clear indication of the outcomeis expected by Monday evening.
COMPLEX SYSTEM
The voting system was put in place by Berlusconi's lastgovernment before he narrowly lost a 2006 election to RomanoProdi, who preceded Veltroni as the centre left's leader.
This makes it difficult for one party to win a strongmajority in the Senate, the upper house, essential for agovernment wanting to making unpopular economic reforms.
The election winner may have to broker a deal with smallerparties he has held at arms length during the election campaign-- the communist/green Rainbow Left, the centrist Union ofChristian Democrats and the hard right La Destra.
The next prime minister will want as strong a coalition aspossible to avoid the fate of Prodi's government, whichcollapsed 20 months into a five-year term.
A "grand coalition" uniting Veltroni and Berlusconi nowseems less likely than at the start of the campaign.
Italy's economy is suffering from poor domestic demand andthe strong euro making exports more costly. The economicmalaise is symbolised by the failure to sell the state'scontrolling stake in airline Alitalia, a major issue for thenew government.
The Treasury recently cut its 2008 forecast for economicgrowth to 0.6 from 1.5 percent. The International Monetary Fundsays it will be half the revised figure.
The endorsement of Hollywood star George Clooney,footballer Francesco Totti and actor and director RobertoBenigni have added some glamour to Veltroni's low-key campaign.
(Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Milan;Editing by Timothy Heritage and Jon Boyle)
