Related: General elections start in Italy

    ROME, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Italy held elections on Sunday and Monday to elect the country's 61st government since the World War II.

    The election will pick up 630 lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament, and 315 in the Senate. Parties taking part in the elections are divided into two blocs-- the conservative center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Silvios Berlusconi and the center-left bloc headed by former premier and EU chief Romano Prodi.

    The following is a glimpse of the centre-right coalition, or "House of Liberties" coalition:

    The centre-right House of Liberties, led by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, is made up of four main parties: Berlusconi's Forza Italia (Force of Italy), the right-wing National Alliance (AN), the revolutionist Northern League and the centrist Catholic UDC.

    The coalition also includes two small parties: the New Italian Socialists and the Christian Democrats (DC), which ran on a joint ticket; Social Alternative, an alliance of small hard-right movements led by Alessandra Mussolini; and Tricolour Flame, a tiny far-right party led by Luca Romagnoli.

    Force of Italy

    Filling a political vacuum left by corruption scandals, it was created by Silvio Berlusconi just before the 1994 general election, which he won with National Alliance and the Northern League.

    Berlusconi swept back to power in May 2001, his Forza Italia gaining 29.4 percent of the vote to become Italy's biggest party. Support has since dropped for the conservative party, which won 21 percent in the 2004 European Parliament elections and 18.4 percent in April 2005 regional elections.

    National Alliance (AN)

    Led by Italian Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, the right-wing National Alliance (AN) completed its transformation from the smaller hard-right Movimento SocialeItaliana (MSI) in 1995, when it ditched its Mussolinian heritage and took its new name. Since then, Fini has carefully steered the party into Italy's political mainstream.

    AN won 12 percent in the 2001 general elections and 11.5 percent in the 2004 European Parliament vote.

    Northern League

    Led by populist firebrand Umberto Bossi, the Northern League'smain aim is to see powers devolved from the State to Italy's 20 regions because it views the affluent north as hampered by the underdeveloped south. Often criticised as anti-foreigner and anti-European, the formerly separatist party frequently sparks controversy.

    Bossi continues to head the League despite his ongoing recovery from a major stroke in 2004.

    The League won 3.9 percent of the vote in the 2001 general elections, compared to 10.1 percent in 1996. In the 2004 European Parliament elections, support for the party nudged up to 5 percent.

    UDC

    The centrist, Catholic UDC was created in December 2002 when three small like-minded groups within Berlusconi's coalition - the CCD, the CDU and European Democracy - merged to form a single party.

    The UDC is currently led by Lorenzo Cesa, an ex-member of Italy' s once-dominant Christian Democrat (DC) party. But Lower House Speaker Pier Ferdinando Casini is expected to take over as leader once his institutional role is completed. The parties in the UDC together won 3.2 percent in the 2001 general elections.

    The UDC won 5.9 percent in the 2004 European vote.

    New Italian Socialist Party (Nuovo PSI).

    The tiny Nuovo PSI was founded in 2001 by Gianni De Michelis, a former heavyweight in the Italian Socialist Party which collapsed amid corruption scandals in the early 1990s. The Nuovo PSI ran on a joint ticket with the Christian Democrats (DC). It gained 0.9 percent in the 2001 general elections.

    Christian Democrats (DC)

    The tiny DC was formed in January 2005 by Gianfranco Rotondi. Rotondi split from the UDC in order to revive the tradition of Italy's once-powerful Christian Democrat party, which was swept away by corruption scandals in the early 1990s. The DC ran on a joint ticket with the Nuovo PSI.

    Social Alternative

    An alliance of hard-right and neo-Fascist parties led by MEPAlessandra Mussolini.

    Mussolini, the granddaughter of Fascist dictator Benito

    Mussolini, quit National Alliance (AN) in 2003 to found her own party. It gained 1.2 percent in the 2004 European Parliament elections.

    Tricolour Flame

    The Tricolour Flame was formed when neo-Fascist diehard PinoRauti refused to join National Alliance (AN) when it cut its Mussolinian roots in 1995. The party is now led by Luca Romagnoli, an MEP elected in 2004 with Social Alternative. Tricolour Flamewon 0.4 percent in the 2001 general elections and 0.7 percent in the 2004 European elections. Enditem