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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Casey Anthony texts: "guess who spends eternity in jail" 28 May 2011 Roadside bomb kills seven NATO troops in Afghanistan 26 May 2011 Air France crash sparks pilot mystery 27 May 2011 Lockheed says thwarted "tenacious" cyber attack 1:49am EDT Breakaway Yemen army units add to pressure on Saleh | 11:36am EDT Discussed 94 Obama departs for Europe trip, explores Irish roots 81 Netanyahu speech eyed for sign of U.S.-Israel rift 74 $1 trillion on the table in U.S. debt talks Watched GM pulls the plug Fri, May 27 2011 Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail Tue, May 24 2011 Death toll rises in Joplin, Missouri 12:30am EDT Berlusconi risks defeat in local election run-offs Tweet Share this By Deepa Babington ROME (Reuters) - Italians voted on Sunday in local election run-offs where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition risks humiliating defeat in his home town of Milan for the first time in nearly 20 years. Nearly... Email Print Related News Embarrassment, mockery over Berlusconi's latest gaffe Fri, May 27 2011 Berlusconi risks defeat in key local elections Thu, May 26 2011 Obama warns Gaddafi of "no let up" Wed, May 25 2011 Euro zone debtors under pressure over new risks Mon, May 23 2011 Spanish Socialists hammered in local elections Mon, May 23 2011 Analysis & Opinion Living off the fat of the land? WITNESS: An evening with Ratko Mladic Related Topics World » Italy » An elderly man prepares to cast his vote at a polling station in downtown Milan May 29, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Paolo Bona By Deepa Babington ROME | Sun May 29, 2011 7:43am EDT ROME (Reuters) - Italians voted on Sunday in local election run-offs where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition risks humiliating defeat in his home town of Milan for the first time in nearly 20 years. Nearly 6 million voters are eligible to cast ballots in contests in 90 towns and six provinces, but the focus is squarely on the key battlegrounds of the financial capital Milan and the southern port of Naples. Results are expected after voting ends on Monday. Berlusconi took a drubbing in the first round of voting on May 15 and 16, when an uninspired center left managed to hold on to power easily in Turin and Bologna and forced the center right into run-offs in Naples and Milan, its northern power base. Defeat in the run-offs, especially in Milan, would be a serious blow for Berlusconi, deepening divisions in the center right and potentially provoking challenges to his leadership. "I'm hoping this vote will bring a change for Milan, an improvement," said salesman Bruno Pedrazzoli, 53, after casting his vote in Milan. He complained of high pollution levels and insufficient public transportation in the city, where center-right mayor Letizia Moratti trailed with 41.6 percent of the first-round vote against leftist Giuliano Pisapia's 48 percent. The media magnate characterized the vote as a referendum on his popularity, and was punished by voters in the first round for a series of sex scandals, corruption cases and a stagnant economy. Days later, ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on Italy for failing to cut its debt mountain and boost growth. "The Berlusconi era is ending," Walter Veltroni, a former center-left leader whom Berlusconi defeated in national elections in 2008, told the left-wing newspaper L'Unita. Italy has weathered the financial crisis better than its southern European peers, but has been one of the euro zone's most sluggish economies for more than a decade. Berlusconi's government last month was forced to cut its growth forecast for the year to 1.1 percent from 1.3 percent and cut next year's outlook to 1.3 percent from 2.0 percent. "ISLAMIC GYPSYLAND" Initially stunned into silence by the first-round results, Berlusconi has since taken to the campaign trail with a vengeance. Blanketing the airwaves with tirades against his long-time enemies, the left and magistrates, he has predicted Milan will become an "Islamic gypsyland" if the left wins and accused leftist voters of lacking a brain. A rant against Italian magistrates to a surprised U.S. President Barack Obama at the Group of Eight summit in Deauville, France prompted Economy Undersecretary Daniela Melchiorre, a former magistrate, to resign in protest. Hours after the summit on Friday, Berlusconi flew to Naples for a flurry of television interviews and a duet with a Neapolitan singer to wrap up campaigning in trademark defiance. Asked if the center right would face a crisis in the event of defeat, Berlusconi said: "I categorically exclude that." A general atmosphere of acrimony marked the end of campaigning on Friday, with a fire sweeping through an election office for the center-right candidate in Naples and two people hurt in a brawl between supporters of rival candidates in Milan. In Naples, a divided center left which fielded two candidates in the first round could fare better with a unified front in the run-offs, although both sides have taken flak for failing to resolve a chronic garbage crisis plaguing the city. (Additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by David Cowell) World Italy Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. 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