By Iain Rogers
ROME (Reuters) - About one-third of Italy's electorate,estimated to be undecided a day before voting begins in thenational election, spent Saturday considering whether to chooseconservative frontrunner Silvio Berlusconi or his centre-leftrival Walter Veltroni.
Media tycoon Berlusconi, appearing on one of his owntelevision channels just before a ban on campaigning began atmidnight on Friday, pledged to abolish car and motorcycle tax-- if the Treasury had the cash.
He clashed with programme host Enrico Mentana and tried tograb extra air time to explain to the 6.8 million viewers howto cast their ballots on Sunday and Monday.
"He made me look really bad, I'm very upset," an angryBerlusconi said as he left the studio. "I only wanted toexplain how to make the cross on the ballot paper but hestopped me. I didn't want to finish the campaign like this."
Berlusconi, 71, has challenged the government to overhaulthe ballot papers, which he said could be confusing.
Veltroni, Rome's 52-year-old former mayor who is runningfor the Democratic Party, used a final rally in the city'sPiazza del Popolo on Friday to deliver a stirring speech.
Appearing on television just before Berlusconi, he stressedhis campaign theme, that he was the candidate of change.
Political analysts say about 30 percent of Italians willdecide how to vote at the last minute and Berlusconi give afigure of 32 percent of the electorate as still uncommitted.About 47 million Italians are eligible to vote.
In his last moments of air time, the conservative leaderurged centre-right voters not to cast their ballots for theChristian Democrats or the far-right "Destra" party, saying theonly useful vote would be for his People of Freedom party.
"SHADOW OF FRAUD"
Berlusconi had a lead of between 5 and 9 percentage pointsin the last permitted opinion polls two weeks before the vote.
The electoral system meant it was difficult to win amajority in the Senate, where Romano Prodi's two-seat leadcaused his centre-left coalition to collapse in January. Thiswill also restrict the next government's room to manoeuvre.
In a fresh blow to Berlusconi, a Sicilian ally and memberof the Senate, Marcello dell'Utri, was linked in media reportson Saturday to an investigation into suspected ballot fraud bythe mafia involving votes by Italians abroad.
Massimo Franco, a columnist for the newspaper Corrieredella Sera, said this could "cast a shadow of fraud" over theelection.
Dell'Utri denies any wrongdoing.
Disillusioned voters have complained there is little tochoose between the two main political groups as both promise tocut taxes to try to rescue the economy from recession.
Rome resident Luca Priori said on Saturday he was not goingto vote. "It is my personal protest," he said. "I don't haveany faith in Italian politics or the outcome of the elections."
Valentina Criscimanni, shopping in Rome, said she would bemaking a protest vote: "I am planning to go to the pollingstation to try to make it clear on the ballot that I feel noneof the candidates represents me."
Polls close at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. British Summer Time) onMonday with exit polls expected immediately and preliminaryresults two hours later.
(Additional reporting by Stephen Brown and Antonio Denti;editing by Andrew Dobbie)
