Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth time . The eurozone 's third largest economy is hurting , with unemployment surpassing 11 % . Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly win . Under the country 's closed-list proportional representation system , each party submits ranked lists of its candidates , and is awarded seats according to the proportion of votes won -- provided it passes a minimum threshold of support . He has promised a referendum on Italy's membership in the euro if he wins power next year.
Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth time . The eurozone 's third largest economy is hurting , with unemployment surpassing 11 % . Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly win . He has promised a referendum on Italy's membership in the euro if he wins power next year.