Walter Veltroni, the centre-left contender, yesterday began his attempt to overtake Silvio Berlusconi in the final days of campaigning before the Italian general election on Sunday.

Mr Veltroni's last-minute sprint took him to Milan, Mr Berlusconi's home town and the heartland of centre-right voters, and to Bologna, the home town of Romano Prodi, his predecessor as leader of the Centre Left and twice Prime Minister of Italy.

“Walter, I hand over to you,” Mr Prodi said. “I am the man who beat Berlusconi twice — and the victory will go to you too!” he added to ecstatic applause in Piazza Maggiore, the main square in Bologna.

The most recent opinion polls, published a week ago, give Mr Berlusconi and his “People of Liberty” alliance a lead of between five and nine points. Mr Veltroni, who has travelled 20,000km (12,000 miles) in his election bus, claims that he has now caught up.

Mr Veltroni, a far more effective speaker than Mr Prodi, casts himself as Italy's Barack Obama, adopting as his slogan “Si puo fare”, the equivalent of Mr Obama's “Yes, we can”. At 52 he is young by Italian political standards. He is aware that many Italians take a dim view of Umberto Bossi, the unpredictable leader of the separatist Northern League, which is allied to Mr Berlusconi.

Mr Veltroni was quick to seize on Mr Bossi's call to his followers this week to “take up arms against that rabble in Rome” over the Government's refusal to reprint “confusing” ballot papers.

The claim by Mr Berlusconi that Italians might put their cross in the wrong box by mistake, Mr Veltroni declared, showed that he was preparing to use the excuse of “irregularities” in the event of defeat or deadlock, as he did in the 2006 election.

Mr Berlusconi, 71, offers a familiar mix of extravagant promises, media power, gaffes, showmanship and, the Left says, dubious allies. Yesterday commentators dismissed his suggestion that judges and lawyers should have “regular mental health checks” as yet another in a long line of attacks on magistrates who, he claims, persecute him by repeatedly investigating him for corruption.

Mr Veltroni also has weak points, including that his Democratic Party, formed last October, excludes the far Left and the Greens. He would need their support to govern, as Mr Prodi did before him.

His hope is that young Italians, many disillusioned with the cynicism and corruption of the country's politics, will back him in the final lap. As much as 30 per cent of Italians say that they are undecided.

Times Recommends

• It’s only Brits who don’t appreciate me, says Blair
• Party’s over for Greek graspers
• White House tightens security for Xmas marathon