960422

Italian leftists savour victory after 50-year wait

ROME: A stone's throw from where fascist dictator Benito Mussolini used to harangue the Rome crowd, thousands of flag-waving supporters came to celebrate the centre-left's first Italian election win since World War Two.

"We've waited 50 years for this moment and now we're going to party," said Giorgio Cortellessa, a 55-year old Roman who had brought his family to the packed Santi Apostoli square in the heart of the city to savour the moment.

Early election forecasts showed the centre-left Olive Tree alliance winning control of both the upper and lower houses of parliament, beating a centre-right challenge led by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi.

"I feel like a child of mine has been born," said Shabir Mohammad, president of Rome's Pakistani Community, who has lived in Italy since 1987.

"The future of immigrants was tied to the left winning. Now we can sleep easy," he said in the picturesque square where the centre-left had set up a huge television screen for its cheering supporters to watch the results flow in.

A short walk away, dodging the speeding mopeds and cars blasting their horns in a victory salute, another crowd massed outside the headquarters of the largest group in the Olive Tree alliance, the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS),

"The left is winning all over Europe. We've won tonight, Tony Blair will win in Britain soon," said Silvio Mitisi, a 27-year old student. "Actually the Olive Tree isn't left enough, but hopefully it will become more radical," he said.

As PDS leader Massimo D'Alema stepped onto the balcony on a warm Spring night to salute his army of largely young supporters, a huge football chant ran out.

But some saw problems ahead.

"You wait and see, they won't find it easy to govern," said Mauro Vizani, a technician who had come out to watch the celebrations but had not voted for the left.

"Everyone wanted to win, but no-one can control a country like Italy...I think Berlusconi is lucky to be in opposition," he added.

The PDS, Italy's former communist party, has been in effective opposition since the end of World War Two.

To break its losing streak, it joined forces in this election with a host of parties under the umbrella of the Olive Tree, embracing the Marxist party Communist Refoundation on one hand and the Catholic, centrist Popular Party on the other.

"If we couldn't win today with an alliance as wide as this, then it would have meant we were never going to win," said Adele Cacciotti, a Rome housewife and leftist activist.

As the evening wore on, people waving the red flag of the PDS, the green flag of the Olive Tree and the white flag of the Popular Party streamed across central Rome and into the narrow Apostoli square.

"Those flags make up the colours of the Italian flag. We represent everyone, not just a few rich people," Cacciotti said.

But a disappointed supporter of the hard right National Alliance said the Olive Tree was trying to be too much to too many people and predicted it would soon fall apart.-Reuter