 The elections in 2006 returned Prodi in government, leading an all-encompassing centre-left coalition of 11 parties (The Union).Prodi won with only a slim majority in the Senate, also due to the new proportional electoral law introduced by Berlusconi and Calderoli in 2005.In the first year of his government, Prodi had followed a cautious policy of economic liberalization and reduction of public debt.