Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s popularity rating has plunged to a low of 37 per cent in October and outright opposition to his leadership is rising, a poll published yesterday showed.

The percentage of people who are unhappy with Mr Berlusconi has reached a record high of 58 per cent compared to 55 per cent in September, according to the survey of 1,000 people conducted by the IPR Marketing Institute.

Mr Berlusconi’s popularity rating had been at 62 per cent in October 2008, shortly after his election victory, but it had fallen to 48 per cent by January of this year and was down at 39 per cent in September, IPR said.

“The tensions in the Cavaliere’s party are having their effect,” La Repubblica newspaper, which commissioned the poll, said, referring to Mr Berlusconi’s struggle with arch-rival Gianfranco Fini, Speaker of Parliament.

“The poll shows a head of government in ever greater difficulty who is paying for internal tensions with supporters of Gianfranco Fini,” it said.

Mr Fini and his supporters in Parliament broke away from Mr Berlusconi’s ruling People of Freedom party in July and are planning to set up their own party.

They have said that they do not want to bring down the government.