Rome: Silvio Berlusconi was set to become next Italian prime minister after he won his third Italian election with a bigger than expected swing to the centre right.
Berlusconi looked to have secured a clear majority on Tuesday, with almost all votes counted after a two-day election. The anti-immigration Northern League party in Berlusconi's bloc emerged as a surprise winner.
Centre-left leader Walter Veltroni called the 71-year-old to concede defeat.
After two years in opposition, Berlusconi is expected to return to Rome from his home in northern Italy later on Tuesday, although for procedural reasons he is unlikely to be appointed prime minister before early May.
The victory marks Berlusconi's third term of office. He told state television on Monday night, "The months and years ahead will be difficult and I am preparing a government ready to last five years."
He said his priorities were settling the future of state-controlled Alitalia, which the outgoing administration was struggling to privatise, and clean up a long-standing garbage crisis in Naples.
