Silvio Berlusconi, billionaire entrepreneur and centre-right opposition leader, was heading for victory and a third term as prime minister following Italy’s parliamentary elections, according to projections based on early results last night.

Several hours after polls closed following two days of voting, Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party and his rightwing allies, the Northern League, were heading for a clear majority in the lower house, but possibly a narrower margin of victory in the senate.