No waving flags or soaring anthems, but a low key end to campaigning for Italy's outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti.<br/> <br />He's hardly a showman like his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi -and he held his final rally before the weekend's vote in a modest theatre in Florence.<br/> <br />Monti was a caretaker leader - he reminded his audience he brought in austerity policies, got borrowing under control and won the backing of his European partners.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Mario Monti, Outgoing Italian Prime Minister, saying (Italian):<br/> <br />"This morning, two things were announced, one: that Italy is expected to get out of recession from the middle of 2013."<br/> <br />Even at this late stage, the race is wide open.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Angela Giuliani, Rome resident, saying (Italian):<br/> <br />"I'll certainly go and vote but I still don't know who for - at the moment I still really don't know."<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Marco Federicci, Business man, saying (Italian):<br/> <br />"I'm not going to vote for anybody, I'm going to spoil my ballot because none of them are satisfactory."<br/> <br />Former minister Pier Luigi Bersani is still seen as the favourite - pollsters expect him to form a centre-left government with Monti.<br/> <br />But former Prime Minister Berlusconi has bounced back from sex and financial scandals.<br/> <br />The 76-year-old disappointed supporters when he cancelled his final rally in Naples, reportedly suffering from conjunctivits.<br/> <br />His rebound has caused concern the vote will be split and so Italy may not get a strong government to carry out reforms.<br/> <br />Italians are fed up with record unemployment and tax increases says political journalist Massimo Franco.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Massimo Franco, Political Journalist with the Corriere della Sera newspaper, saying (English):<br/> <br />"There might be a relative victory of the protest vote which means that the parliament may be in trouble in the next months."<br/> <br />The main recipient of that protest vote could be populist comedian Beppe Grillo.<br/> <br />His anti-establishment Five Star movement may even be the third-biggest party.<br/> <br />The markets have been calm in the run-up to the vote, but Michael Hewson from CMC Markets says an inconclusive result could prompt a bigger investor sell-off than Berlusconi returning to power.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Michael Hewson, CMC Markets, saying (English):<br/> <br />"I think that's going to make bond investors in Italian debt very, very nervous. I think we could see a push higher, towards 5 percent, on the ten year measure and it could well present the ECB with a significant problem if the reform programme stalls, and if that happens, that's going to be fairly negative for risk."<br/> <br />Whoever wins the election will inherit public debt of 2 trillion euros - the highest amount since World War One.<br/> <br />And they'll have to tackle the lack of growth in the euro zone's most sluggish economy.
