ROME (AP) — The man tapped by Silvio Berlusconi as his choice for Italy's next premier has met with laid off Italian union workers and vowed to pull strings to intervene in the politically clamorous closure of their Turin refrigerator factory.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani met with the delegation on the sidelines of a parliamentary plenary meeting in Brussels Wednesday, a sign that Italy's election isn't far from his mind.

Tajani, who is about half-way through his stint as parliament president, has emerged as one of the most talked-about possibilities for premier to emerge after Sunday's election, which analysts say is far more unpredictable than Italy's usual chaotic political fare.

Most surveys indicate that Berlusconi's center-right coalition stands the biggest chance of nearing a majority to be able to form a government.