Grumpy Italian voters see little to cheer about

ROME (Reuters) - To most of the outside world, Italy is a land of beautiful landscapes, delicious food, glamorous fashion and Renaissance art treasures.

But Italians voting on Sunday to elect their 62nd government since World War Two used words such as "decline", "malaise" and "shambles" to describe the state of their country and how they feel about their political leaders.

"Right now, Italy is like a flat tire," 79-year-old Renato Riccini said after casting his ballot in an upmarket Rome neighborhood.

"The money is never enough, prices and taxes keep going up and it's a real battle to make ends meet. Even Alitalia is going belly up," he said, referring to the near-bankrupt national airline which has been up for sale for more than a year.

From elderly people struggling on low pensions to youths complaining about the lack of stable jobs, the picture outside polling stations was one of grumpiness and frustration with political leaders many see as corrupt or plain incompetent.

"Yet again we are voting in Italy and what has changed? Nothing. For me it will be a protest vote to send them a message," said Mila Sabattini, a 35-year-old woman voting in central Milan.

The election was called three years ahead of time after Romano Prodi's 20-month old centre-left government fell in January following the defection of a small coalition party.

Prodi's heir as centre-left leader, former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, is hoping to defy opinion polls and prevent conservative media magnate Silvio Berlusconi winning a third term as prime minister.

Both have pledged to reduce Italy's huge public debt, cut taxes and liberalize the highly regulated services sector.

But with the economy nearing recession, salaries among the lowest in Europe, inflation at a record high and an electoral law spawning unstable governments, many voters said they had little faith in either candidate improving their lot.

Statistics show that Italy is growing older and poorer while the economy underperforms its European peers. Small and medium-sized businesses, long its backbone, are being elbowed out of the market by cheaper Asian competitors. Stagnant productivity and a rigid labor market are holding back growth.

Even Berlusconi, whose political career was built on an image of flamboyant optimism, said in his program that he cannot promise any miracles.

"I don't have high hopes and I don't expect things to change," said Alessandra Marani, a 31-year-old doctor working night shifts in a Rome private clinic for lack of better options.

"I specialized as a surgeon but I can't find a job matching my qualifications. I am seriously thinking of going abroad."

Her mood did not brighten when she was asked to leave her mobile phone outside the polling booth, a new rule meant to prevent election fraud which she and many other voters dismissed as unnecessary red tape.

"I just think this is absurd," she said.

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi in Rome, Ian Simpson and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Milan; Editing by Timothy Heritage)