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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's choice A selection of our top photos from the past 48 hours. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read German government wants nuclear exit by 2022 at latest | 11:23am EDT EU racing to draft second Greek bailout: sources | 8:41am EDT Air France crash sparks pilot mystery 27 May 2011 UPDATE 2-Italy to bring forward deficit-cutting decree-sources 23 May 2011 Roadside bomb kills seven NATO troops in Afghanistan 26 May 2011 Discussed 83 Netanyahu speech eyed for sign of U.S.-Israel rift 75 $1 trillion on the table in U.S. debt talks 54 Judge voids controversial Wisconsin union law Watched Sarah Palin's Rolling Thunder Sun, May 29 2011 GM pulls the plug Fri, May 27 2011 Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail Tue, May 24 2011 Berlusconi faces defeat in crucial Milan election Tweet Share this By Deepa Babington ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faces defeat in his northern power base of Milan on Monday in run-off local elections that will raise doubts over the future of his fragile center-right coalition... Email Print Related News Embarrassment, mockery over Berlusconi's latest gaffe Fri, May 27 2011 Greek austerity standoff rattles euro zone Wed, May 25 2011 EU options for averting Greek default narrow Tue, May 24 2011 Euro rebounds as oil rallies on Goldman view Tue, May 24 2011 Euro rises against dollar but Greece saps momentum Tue, May 24 2011 Analysis & Opinion Senate kills federal innovation research program Power, sex and conventional wisdom Related Topics World » 1 / 3 Italian Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi casts his ballot at a polling station in Milan May 29, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Stringer By Deepa Babington ROME | Mon May 30, 2011 10:34am EDT ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faces defeat in his northern power base of Milan on Monday in run-off local elections that will raise doubts over the future of his fragile center-right coalition government. Facing three corruption trials and a lurid sex scandal, Berlusconi, the dominant figure in Italian politics for nearly two decades, suffered a drubbing in last week's first round. An uninspired center left easily held on to power in Turin and Bologna and the stunning setback unleashed divisions in the ruling alliance, with Berlusconi's allies in the Northern League particularly alarmed at the prospect of losing Milan. Italy's financial capital and the base of Berlusconi's vast business empire has not been held by the left for nearly 20 years. Defeat there would be a shattering blow to the 74-year-old premier that could destabilize the whole government. First projections after polls closed on Monday showed leftist Giuliano Pisapia ahead in Milan with 52 percent of the vote against 48 percent for center-right mayor Letizia Moratti. With the southern port of Naples also set to fall to the opposition Italy of Values party, the local elections have been seen as a referendum on the billionaire prime minister. "Everybody knows that the vote in Milan is likely to change in no small measure the balance of national politics," Turin daily La Stampa said in an editorial. "If the center-right should lose the Lombard capital, the first element that could be lost is the fragile balance that keeps Berlusconi and the League on the same side." With the government preparing to bring forward plans to slash the budget deficit by 40 billion euros ($57 billion) after ratings agency Standard and Poor's cut its outlook for Italy's A+ rating to "negative" from "stable", the stakes are high. Italy has one of the most sluggish economies in Europe, more than a quarter of its young people are unemployed and government policy is constrained by the need to contain a debt mountain equivalent to some 120 percent of gross domestic product. In a move seen widely as a signal that he believed defeat in Milan was likely, Berlusconi chose to travel to Romania on Monday but senior ministers have ruled out any change of course before the next national elections in 2013. "I don't see any possibility of an alternative government. And I don't think anyone wants early elections," Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa, one of Berlusconi's most faithful lieutenants, told La Stampa. "ISLAMIC GYPSYLAND" In Milan, where Berlusconi launched his political career, Moratti trailed with 41.6 percent of the first-round vote against Pisapia's 48 percent. "I have seen the climate is changing, Milan is really changing," Milan resident Cinzia Zarotti said after she cast her vote on Monday. Regional issues including transport, the upcoming Expo 2015 in Milan and the chronic garbage crisis in Naples have weighed on voters' choices but the flailing national economy has overshadowed the polls. Italy has been the euro zone's most sluggish economy for over a decade, with more than a quarter of its youth unemployed and the average Italian poorer than he or she was 10 years ago. Berlusconi's government last month 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. S&P's lowered its outlook on Italy for failing to cut its debt and boost growth, although worries of an immediate impact on the markets eased after the Treasury sold long-term bonds near the top of its target range on Monday. After being punished for initially characterizing the vote as a referendum on his popularity and policies, Berlusconi has blanketed the airwaves with trademark tirades against his longtime enemies: the left and "communist" magistrates. Milan will become an "Islamic gypsyland" if the left wins, he predicted. Leftist voters lacked a brain anyway, he said, prompting Internet spoofs and a lawsuit from an offended voter. A rant against Italian magistrates to a surprised President Barack Obama at the Group of Eight summit in Deauville, France prompted Economy Undersecretary Daniela Melchiorre, a former magistrate, to resign in protest. (Additional reporting by Roberto Rossi in Milan; Editing by Louise Ireland) World 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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