ROME The leaders of the two main alliances competing in Italy's elections on May 13, Silvio Berlusconi and Francesco Rutelli, entered their final day of campaigning Friday oozing confidence.

"I will be the prime minister of all Italians," center-right candidate Berlusconi told Italian newspapers.

"The elections will be won by us," center-left candidate Rutelli said in a television interview.

Although opinion polls cannot be published during the final days of campaigning, analysts expect Berlusconi's House of Liberties coalition to gain a majority of votes.

However, Rutelli's Olive Tree coalition appears to have gained ground in recent weeks and may pose a serious challenge to what had previously been seen as a sure Berlusconi victory.

With a significant percentage of voters having expressed indecision, the situation was being seen as particularly fluid, especially in the Senate, where the minimum voting age is higher.

In 1994, for example, Berlusconi rose to power with a comfortable majority in the Lower Chamber of Deputies but with only a wafer thin majority in the Senate.

If no clear majority emerges from Sunday's vote, the coalitions may be forced to seek the support of smaller, nonaligned parties.

Centrist parties such as Sergio d'Antoni's European Democracy or Antonio di Pietro's radical Italy of Values could then play pivotal roles in forming Italy's 59th government since World War II.

Other nonaligned parties include the far-left refounded Communists, the far-right Fiamma Tricolore and Emma Bonino's radical movement.

"We will gain a large majority in both branches of Parliament," Berlusconi said when asked where he would turn if extra support were required.

Seeking to lure swing voters during the final day of campaigning -- no propaganda is allowed the day before the votes are cast -- the media mogul bought a full page on the Milan-based **** Il Corriere della Sera **** newspaper to advertise his "contract with Italians".

Berlusconi, an advertising and marketing expert, has promised to give up politics if his government were to fail in delivering at least four out of five of its top priorities: Significant cuts in tax and crime rates, higher minimum pensions, the halving of the unemployment rate -- which today stands at just under 10 percent -- and the start of many public works jobs.