Prodi fans savour last-minute goal in Italy poll

ROME, Apr 11 (Reuters) Romano Prodi fans celebrated in the style usually reserved for Italian cup final victories -- taking to their cars and honking their horns, many driving past the Rome home of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

While Berlusconi's allies disputed Prodi's claim to have won yesterday's general election, hundreds of centre-left supporters who had waited anything up to 12 hours to see him, had no difficulty taking his word that he was Italy's new leader.

''Dear friends, we have won,'' Prodi declared at around 3.00 a.m.

(0630 hrs IST today) to flag waving supporters crowded into Piazza Santi Apostoli outside his campaign headquarters.

''Send the thief packing,'' came a reply from the crowd, one of the more polite insults Prodi's supporters yelled at Berlusconi throughout the long wait for results after polls closed at 3.00 p.m. hrs.

''Ole, ole, chi non salta e' Berlusconi,'' sang the leaping crowd in front of Prodi's campaign truck, adapting a popular football chant which in this version translates as: ''Ole, ole, the only one not jumping is Berlusconi.'' Berlusconi, the media tycoon, who also owns soccer team AC Milan, has said the only thing that really united Prodi's wide coalition that stretched from centrist Roman Catholics to hard-line communists was their desire to get rid of him.

LEAD EVAPORATES For late-comers to the square, the partying belied the tense, almost desperate atmosphere that reigned for much of the 12-hour wait.

While the first exit polls gave Prodi's ''Union'' coalition a sizeable majority in both houses of parliament, the lead evaporated as data trickled in.

The crowd gasped when, at around 8 p.m., a giant TV screen above the stage where Prodi had planned to give his late-afternoon victory speech revealed the vote count was neck-and-neck.

When Prodi, who was due to appear at 6.30 p.m. finally took to the stage at 1.00 a.m., it was merely to say ''Sorry I'm late'', and announce the results were unclear. He then returned to his campaign rooms.

The first sign that Prodi's people were sure they had secured a majority was when members of his team threw campaign leaflet, ticker-tape style, from their office windows.

Soon after, Prodi was back on stage to accept the cheers.

''It's a moment of joy,'' said Giancarlo Lo Monaco, a 25-year-old student, as the crowd sang ''Bella Ciao'', a song from Italy's war-time resistance against fascists and Nazis which has become an anthem for the left.

After Prodi pushed through a mob of reporters to his headquarters, clutching a startled granddaughter to his chest, a supporter called out: ''Good night, Romano.'' Another supporter corrected her: ''No. Good night, Presidente''.

Reuters SB DB1015