In north Italy, immigration is hot election topic

By Marie-Louise Gumuchian

VERONA, Italy (Reuters) - Wearing an Italian soccer cap and sipping an espresso, Moroccan Abbes Mohamed is certain that a centre-left victory in Italy's election on Sunday and Monday would improve life for immigrants.

"The left is much more for integrating foreigners than the right. They just make it difficult," said the 35-year-old in a cafe in Verona, northern Italy. "I really hope the left wins."

Mohamed has lived in Italy for over five years, but he says he is fearful for new immigrants if poll favorite Silvio Berlusconi and his anti-immigrant Northern League allies win.

The League's stance plays well in the rich north, where resentment of foreigners has spread as the number of immigrants, particularly from north Africa and eastern Europe, has grown.

One League campaign poster shows a Native American in feathered head-dress with the text: "They were also subjected to immigration and now they live on reserves! Think about it."

In contrast to previous campaigns, the main sides contesting this vote -- called after Romano Prodi's centre-left government fell in January -- have not put immigration in the spotlight, though both have promised to get tough on crime by immigrants.

The spread of Roma or gypsy camps on city outskirts has raised concern among Italians about crime and other problems blamed on illegal immigration. Forced removals are common.

Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party promises to expel all illegal immigrants and crack down on gypsy camps and "centers linked to the preaching of Muslim fundamentalism".

Walter Veltroni's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) puts the focus on integration, looking to increase the duration of legitimate immigrants' residency permits but to guarantee that expulsion orders for illegal immigrants are really carried out.

NORTHERN LEAGUE INFLUENCE

When Berlusconi, who is seeking a third term as prime minister, hinted at giving immigrants a vote, the League's response was so furious that the idea was quickly dropped.

The 66-year-old League leader, Umberto Bossi, was minister for reforms under Berlusconi until suffering a stroke in 2004, and once advocated the use of gunships to ward off immigrants.

The League spearheaded the so-called Bossi-Fini law under the last Berlusconi government that imposed tougher penalties for illegal immigration; its performance in the election could determine the character of the new government.

Another Berlusconi ally, prospective finance minister Giulio Tremonti, quipped that the PD "prefers couscous" to local food.

In the northeast, where the PDL is confident of a strong lead, a recent poll in three provinces indicated that 40 percent of residents see immigrants as a threat to law and order.