HE HAS vowed to give up sex for the election, compared himself to Jesus and Napoleon, and admitted phoning late-night erotic chat lines. Nothing, it seems, is out of bounds for Silvio Berlusconi.

But yesterday the Italian Prime Minister, trailing in opinion polls before Sunday’s vote, perhaps went a step too far when he suggested that left-wing voters were “dickheads”.

Addressing the honourable Federation of Merchants and Shopkeepers, Signor Berlusconi said that only coglioni would consider voting for the centre-left opposition.

“I have too much esteem for the intelligence of Italians to think that they could be such coglioni as to vote against their own interests.

“I apologise for the crude but effective language.”

The Prime Minister, whose faltering campaign has lacked the brash self-confidence that swept the millionaire businessman to office, said that he had spoken “ironically, with a smile on my lips”. But opposition politicians said that Signor Berlusconi had insulted all Italians. “Berlusconi has confirmed himself to be an uncouth and vulgar man,” the opposition bloc said.

“By using these ignoble and violent words, Berlusconi has thrown off the mask and shown himself for what he is: a person who uses the media like a thug and who lacks any respect for democracy, for institutions and for Italians.”

Signor Berlusconi surprised voters by promising to abolish council tax if he is re-elected. The pledge, apparently unscripted, was made at the very end of the second and final televised debate with Romano Prodi. It would cost councils €2.3 billion (£1.61 billion) a year. Signor Prodi said that the proposal made no economic sense and would bankrupt towns and cities. He accused Signor Berlusconi of demagoguery, saying that he had not explained how he would pay for cutting the tax at a time when Italy’s finances were “in a terrible state”.

For the record, Signor Berlusconi claimed that seven out of nine chatline girls said that they would vote for him.

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