Post date: Feb 26, 2013 1:6:16 AM
Italians in Rome express frustration over general election result as analyst expects negative market reaction.
ROME, ITALY (FEBRUARY 25, 2013) (REUTERS) - Italy's centre-left coalition will win a majority in the lower house of parliament but the upper house will be deadlocked, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday (February 26) after almost all votes were counted.
After 99.9 percent of the polling booths had been tallied, the centre-left led the centre-right by about 125,000 votes in the lower house, handing it a sizeable majority thanks to a generous winner's bonus.But the Senate was a different story. The centre left was sure to win more seats than the centre right in the upper house, but fell well short of a majority, even in coalition with outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti's help.
Since both houses are needed to pass laws, the centre left would need the help of comic Beppe Grillo's 5-Star Movement or Silvio Berlusconi's centre right to pass laws, currently an unlikely prospect. If no agreement can be reached, a new vote would have to be called.
The outcome of the election left many locals disillusioned and unimpressed.
In the capital Rome late on Monday (February 25), few people expected the results to help get the country back on track.
"It is a problematic result but it is the choice of the Italian people so we are just going to have to make it work," said Massimiliano Buonasante.
Rome resident Elmo was particularly concerned about the strong performance of Berlusconi's PDL party.
"We are really in a bad way, on an international level and as the Italian nation. We can never do again what we've done today. We just can't bring back Berlusconi," he said.
Another local man, Pier Angelo Augenti said the elections had done nothing to move the country forward.
"It was better if we hadn't had them, we could have saved some money," he said.
"Confusion, just confusion," another Roman, Eduardo Petrini, added.
The messy election result is also expected to weigh on markets, Reuters Rome bureau chief economic correspondent Gavin Jones said.
"Well they already sold off quite badly today when it became clear that we were probably looking at a hung parliament, certainly looking at a hung parliament, so I don't think we can expect anything very positive tomorrow, U.S. stocks have sold off this afternoon and there is no reason for any optimism that's for sure," he said.
Italian markets had a rollercoaster ride on Monday, with bonds rising and shares soaring after initial telephone polls showed the country's reform-minded centre-left coalition with a slim lead. Worries over a paralysed parliament however quickly erased the gains.
Fears of a political stalemate that could re-ignite the euro zone debt crisis resonated well beyond Italy's borders, with the euro falling to a more than six-week low against the dollar in volatile trade late on Monday.