Berlusconi set to win: Exit polls

ROME: Conservative media mogul Silvio Berlusconi led in exit polls and projected results from Italy's election yesterday, but it was unclear if he had a big enough majority to steer the country through an economic downturn.

Exit polls put the 71-year-old billionaire ahead of centre-left rival Walter Veltroni by just 2-3 percentage points in both houses of parliament after two days of voting ended.

But pollsters' projections based on early results gave him a much clearer lead of between 4.6 and 9.1 points in the Senate, making early predictions of a hung parliament - with the centre-left controlling the upper house - less likely.