ITALY: Millions of Italians will gather round their televisions tonight to watch a debate between the two main contenders in next month's general election, namely centre-right prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and centre-left leader Romano Prodi.
Adding spice to what was already an eagerly anticipated confrontation between the media tycoon and the former European Commission president is the rumpus prompted by Mr Berlusconi's angry walk-out during a Sunday afternoon interview on state TV, RAI 3.
Infuriated by the aggressive questioning of experienced, leftist journalist Lucia Annunziata, Mr Berlusconi cut short the interview, telling Annunziata that she should be "ashamed" of herself and adding that she had shown how "a person with prejudices behaves".
As the furious Mr Berlusconi stormed out of the studio, he could be heard off camera exclaiming: "And people say that I control everything on RAI?"
Annunziata had opened her questioning by suggesting that the prime minister was best known internationally for his friendship with President Bush and for "the biggest conflict of interests in western history". She also accused him of being internationally known for having tried to curb press freedom in Italy.
By way of reply, Mr Berlusconi claimed that RAI 3 was merely a "war machine" against himself whilst he later accused Annunziata of being "an organic expression of the left", saying that her attitude "would represent a black mark on your career" and urging her instead to "ask me why the electorate should vote for us and not for the left".
Whilst Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition inevitably condemned Annunziata's aggressive questioning, media commentators were less sympathetic to the prime minister: "If he wants to submit himself to a journalist's questions, he can't expect to decide what they will be," commented Milan daily Corriere Della Sera, which last week called on its readers to vote for Mr Prodi.
Rome daily La Repubblica commented that for years people have wondered what would happen when Mr Berlusconi has to face serious questions from a journalist, just like politicians all over the world: "We got the answer yesterday. The prime minister ran out of the TV studio."
Sunday's tempestuous interview was just the latest episode in an electoral campaign marked by a series of upsets for the prime minister.
Opinion polls continue to show Mr Prodi's centre-left coalition leading by 4.5-4.3 per cent.