Italians vote in key test for Berlusconi

Italians voted Sunday in partial local elections with all eyes on the northern business hub of Milan, a stronghold of embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The vote Sunday and Monday is a last major test of Berlusconi's popularity before his term runs out in 2013, and comes as the flamboyant Italian leader is embroiled in legal and sex scandals. The centre-right incumbent in Milan, Letizia Moratti, is expected to retain her post, but polls show she might not win outright in the first round and could be forced into a second round at the end of the month. The elections involve 1,310 communal administrations around 16 % of the total including Bologna, Milan, Naples and Turin. Some 13 million of Italy's 49 million-strong electorate are eligible in the vote, with weak growth and unemployment as well as local issues such as the ongoing waste disposal crisis in Naples uppermost in voters' minds. The billionaire Berlusconi, head of a sprawling media empire, is currently a defendant in three trials in Milan, including one in which he is accused of having sex with an underage prostitute. Berlusconi has also been hit by the defection of a key ally, parliament speaker Gianfranco Fini and around 40 lawmakers. His popularity reached a record low of 31 percent in the latest poll last month down from more than 60 % after his re-election in 2008. But he has remained in power thanks to the support of the Northern League and has gone on the offensive, accusing prosecutors of waging a hate campaign against him and painting his leftist critics as communist extremists. Polls opened Sunday at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) and were to close at 10:00 pm, reopening Monday at 7:00 am until 3:00 pm. A second round is set for May 29 and 30.