Polls show gap narrowing between Berlusconi coalition and center-left forces ahead of vote
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The last political polls to be published before Italy's national elections suggest that ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi is gaining ground on the center-left candidate.
Several polls published Friday in major Italian dailies show Berlusconi's coalition would receive about 28 percent of the vote, up about two points from a week earlier, while the center-left coalition dropped a couple of points in the same period to about 35 percent.
Another change: comic/political activist Beppe Grillo is gaining, and in some polls overcoming Mario Monti's centrist coalition. Grillo's anti-establishment campaign has resonated with voters in the wake of the Monte dei Paschi banking scandal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Italian election rules ban publication of polls of voter sentiment during the last 15 days of the campaign. The election will be held Feb. 24-25.