THE FORMER mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, who is fighting the billionaire tycoon Silvio Berlusconi for the Italian premiership, says he models his party on Labour and plans to form the country’s first one-party government.

In his first campaign interview with a foreign newspaper Veltroni, 52, described himself as an admirer of Gordon Brown and a friend of Tony Blair. He said he had already staged a mini-revolution by leading his Democratic party into the elections on April 13-14 with a chance of winning outright victory.

Under a new first-past-the-post system, winning would guarantee him a parliamentary majority with no need for a weak coalition like those that have given Italy 61 governments since the second world war.

Veltroni served as culture minister and deputy prime minister in the first government of the outgoing prime minister, Romano Prodi, in 1996-98. As Rome’s mayor, he instituted free concerts by the Colosseum, featuring such stars as Paul McCartney and Elton John, but failed to solve the traffic problems and smog.

A novelist and film buff, he did the voiceovers for Turkey Lurkey, a character in the 2005 Italian version of the animated film Chicken Little.

Last week he sat in the back of a green campaign bus plastered with images of his smiling face and the slogan “Yes We Can”, borrowed from Barack Obama, the Democratic frontrunner in the US.

“I want to break with the past 15 years of coalitions and daily political infighting, and launch a programme of innovation as happened in Britain, focusing on economic growth,” Veltroni said. “I want one leader, one party to govern, which can be held to account.”

He had no time for the spin doctors favoured by Blair. “I believe a politician must have an instinctive relationship with people.”

The permatanned Berlusconi, 71, leader of the centre-right People of Freedom party, has praised Veltroni as a gifted communicator but branded him a liar. He waved his rival’s manifesto at one rally and then tore it to bits.

Asked about Berlusconi’s attacks, Veltroni replied: “I’m like Bobby Charlton: it’s unlikely a player who commits fouls would catch me. When two people hit each other it’s a punch-up; when it’s just one hitting the other it’s an assault.”

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