Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will likely hold an emergency cabinet meeting to respond to setbacks that have left his coalition in chaos and could affect its performance in this month's Italian regional elections.

Berlusconi will consult with President Giorgio Napolitano at the Quirinale Palace at 2100 GMT on Thursday night, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said. The cabinet would likely meet after that, either late on Thursday or Friday morning, Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said.

The scheduling of a meeting with the elderly head of state at such a late hour underscored the air of crisis and confusion in Berlusconi's People of Freedom coalition (PDL) following pre-election setbacks in Lazio and Lombardy, two key regions.

Several PDL politicians lost their right to be on the ballot list for the March 28-29 vote because of irregularities in presenting their candidacy.

One of the possibilities mooted in the media and by political sources is an emergency cabinet decree that would postpone the elections. But Napolitano would have to give Berlusconi the green light.

Another solution would be to find a political deal with the opposition to allow centre-right candidates thrown off the ballot to be reinstated.

On Wednesday, courts rejected an appeal to reinstate Lombardy Governor Roberto Formigoni, a prominent member of Berlusconi's alliance, and a party slate on ballots.

Election officials had thrown Formigoni, who has strong backing by the Catholic Church, off the regional ballot, citing irregularities in signatures required to support his candidacy.

An appeals court in Rome also threw out a PDL bid to have its slate of candidates reinstated on the electoral ballot for the Rome province of the central Lazio region after the party missed Saturday's deadline for registration.

The regional polls are seen as a test of national strength for Berlusconi, after the 73-year-old media mogul has been rocked by a string of scandals over the last year.

Milan, the capital of Lombardy, and Rome, the capital of Lazio, are especially important since they are Italy's industrial and political capitals, respectively.

An opinion poll published last month showed Berlusconi's approval rating slipping to 46 percent after remaining at or above 50 percent for long periods.

Losing either Lazio or Lombardy would be a major embarrassment for Berlusconi, who was shaken last month by a high-profile corruption scandal concerning the head of the civil protection agency, a close aide.

Berlusconi also faces two trials, for tax fraud and for bribery. He denies any wrongdoing.

Reuters