ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday accused the left of seeking an "invasion of foreigners" to enlarge its voter base, raising pressure on the opposition ahead of regional elections next month.
A government crackdown on illegal immigration has proved popular with Italians and Berlusconi is expected to focus on the issue before the vote, in part to deflect attention from a bribery scandal that could hurt his center-right coalition's election prospects.
"The left wants to throw open the doors to foreigners," Berlusconi said at a campaign rally for the March 28-29 elections. "It does not want immigration but an invasion of foreigners to change the voter base."
Immigration is a sensitive issue in Italy, which has struggled to integrate its growing African and Eastern European immigrant population and fears a loss of national identity.
Leftist lawmakers accused the prime minister of trying to divert attention from the corruption scandals plaguing his coalition, which some have likened to the infamous "Bribesville" scandals of the early 1990s.
"By now the truth is clear to everyone, which is that the prime minister raises the temperature and talks nonsense to hide his difficulties," said Marina Sereni of the center-left Democratic Party.
Guido Bertolaso, the high-profile head of Italy's civil protection department, and Denis Verdini, national coordinator fro Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, have both been ensnared in a corruption probe. A center-right senator also faces arrest for money laundering.
A poll published by the left-leaning La Repubblica daily last week showed Berlusconi's approval rating had dipped 2 percentage points to 46 percent, while another survey conducted at the end of January showed his rating down to 48 percent.
In a sign that Berlusconi's campaign strategy may face resistance from within his own coalition, his top ally Gianfranco Fini distanced himself from the premier's comments on immigrants.
Fini, who has ditched his neo-fascist past to move closer to the center, has been at loggerheads with Berlusconi for months.
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