Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition took a slight lead in regional elections Sunday, falling short of a resounding victory in the media magnate's campaign to return to power, exit polls suggested.
The local races were seen as a prelude to national elections: They offered the first direct test of the two big alliances formed after Berlusconi's government collapsed in December.Berlusconi said the outcome showed that voters wanted what he wants - general elections "as soon as possible."
His Forza Italia party emerged as the No. 1 party, as much as 2.5 percentage points ahead of the former communists, exit polls showed. The votes are to be counted officially on Monday.
RAI state television gave six regions to Berlusconi's conservative alliance and five to a coalition dominated by the ex-Communists. It said four were too close to call.
The exit polls gave 45 percent of the vote to the conservative alliance, around 44 percent to the leftist-dominated coalition and other parties on the left and the rest to the regional Northern League and fringe parties.
Neither Berlusconi nor the leader of the leftist alliance, Romano Prodi, a former state industrialist, ran Sunday.