All eyes are now on president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Italy's supreme political arbiter, who has a month to decide whether he will approve a controversial new law which is causing uproar

The law, which eases limits on media ownership, was passed by the Senate on Tuesday. It expands the advertising market and paves the way for part-privatisation of state broadcaster RAI. The government argues the package will breathe fresh life into Italy's rigid media market. Opponents say it is tailor-made for prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's media empire, the biggest in Italy, enabling him to expand his power even further. Left-wing opposition leader Piero Fassino says: "The president is a man of sufficient authority, wisdom and fairness to know what to do. The unconstitutional aspects (of the bill) are clear." However, analysts expect Ciampi to sign the law - a rejection could further poison Italy's already troubled political waters. "It's a modern law which opens the way to the digital era and pluralism," said Communications minister Maurizio Gaspari, after whom the law has been named. Through his political office and his business interests, Berlusconi has direct or indirect influence over an estimated 95 percent of Italian television. One of the law's more disputed provisions allows the prime minister's television company Mediaset to buy into radio and newspapers from 2009.