Italy's Berlusconi May Serve Third Term in Office

ROME – Early projections show that conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi looks likely to be headed for a third term in office.

Early projections by RAI State TV on Monday show Berlusconi's bloc winning the lower house by 6 percent. Berlusconi would get 45 percent of the vote compared to 39 percent for center-left leader Walter Veltroni.

RAI projections also give his bloc a solid lead in the Senate.

Berlusconi's conservative bloc is projected to take 164 Senate seats, ahead of 139 for center-left leader Veltroni's Democratic Party and allies. The Senate has 315 seats.