Italy's Northern League party, pilloried by its opponents for boorish anti-Islamic gimmicks, was welcomed as a vital electoral ally by Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister, and other centre-right coalition partners.

"Co-operation with the League is not up for discussion. We've worked for five years, we've sometimes had to overcome serious difficulties, but together we've produced a good quality of politics," said Pier Ferdinando Casini, a leader of the Union of Christian Democrats, the government's third-largest party.