By Stephen Brown and Silvia Aloisi
ROME (Reuters) - Italians voted on Sunday in aparliamentary election that could bring conservative mediamagnate Silvio Berlusconi back to power for the third time todeal with a deep economic and social malaise.
The 71-year-old billionaire's main challenger iscentre-left leader Walter Veltroni, a former communist whoportrays himself as a man of change, although his campaignpromises of modest tax cuts and getting tough on crime aresimilar to Berlusconi's.
Many of Italy's 47 million voters were gloomy about theprospects for economic recovery and political stability as theychose their 62nd government since World War Two, especially aselection laws make it hard for anyone to win a clear majority.
The centre-left coalition government led by Romano Prodilasted just 20 months before it collapsed in January with Italysliding towards economic recession.
"I don't care who wins. I just want a government thatlasts," said 54-year-old teacher Francesco Antonazzi, voting inRome on the first day of a two-day election. Voting ends at 3p.m. on Monday and the result could be clear a few hours later.
Voter turnout was lower than during the last parliamentaryelection in 2006. Some 48.69 percent of voters had cast theirballots by 7 p.m., down from 52.16 percent by the same time twoyears ago, the government said.
Berlusconi, the only man in 50 years to have served a fullfive-year term as prime minister, was applauded as he sweptpast voters in Milan, cast his ballot and kissed athree-year-old boy. "Save us, Silvio," one voter shouted.
Veltroni, 52, low-key leader of the Democratic Party,waited in a long queue in Rome until officials let him throughto vote.
Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, led in opinionpolls but his campaign at times lacked the flamboyance that wonhim power in 1994 and 2001, when he went on to serve the fullterm.
The usually smooth-talking leader also made severalapparent slips that could cost him votes, such as insultingsoccer star Francesco Totti for backing the centre left.
PHOTO FINISH?
Italy's morale has been battered by the struggle to find abuyer for loss-making airline Alitalia, a garbage crisis inNaples and a health scare over mozzarella cheese.
The International Monetary Fund sees the European Union'sfourth largest economy growing at just 0.3 percent this yearand it has the world's third highest debt pile in absoluteterms.
Berlusconi and Veltroni both promised modest tax cuts tospur consumption. But the winner's ability to deliver this willbe hampered by complex voting rules, introduced by Berlusconi,that make it hard to win a clear majority in the upper house.
Rome builder Luciano di Pasquale, 55, voted for Berlusconibecause he believed the conservative leader was more likely toimprove employment and wages. "I don't like the way Prodigoverned and Veltroni is just more of the same," he said.
Ruggero Bianchi, 63, voted for Veltroni, who has thebacking of Hollywood's George Clooney. "I have faith in theDemocratic Party but I don't think the next government is goingto last more than the last one," Bianchi said in Rome.
A third of voters were expected to decide at the lastminute who to back. Many saw little difference between theplatforms.
"I planned to vote for Berlusconi this time. But when I gotinside the ballot box, I just couldn't do it," said 36-year-oldMassimo Pavese in Turin. "I've always voted for the left."
He voted for Veltroni, but said: "He's got no chance ofwinning. His platform is practically the same as Berlusconi'sand people are too disappointed with the Prodi government."
A close race could force the winner into a coalition withsmaller parties. Veltroni and Berlusconi, the only ones with areal chance of being premier, deny they might form a coalition.
(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart and Iain Rogers inRome, Gavin Jones in Turin, Gilles Castonguay and Marie LouiseGumuchian in Milan; Writing by Stephen Brown; Editing byTimothy Heritage)
For more coverage of Italy's election, check out:http://blogs.reuters.com/italia/
