Silvio Berlusconi's Right-wing party gained far fewer votes than expected in the European elections as Italy's anti-immigration Northern League polled its best ever result.

The Italian prime minister had hoped that his centre-Right People of Freedom Party would attract up to 45 per cent of the vote, but instead it won just over 35 per cent.

Italian voters appeared to have punished the self-made billionaire for a series of controversies, including his favouring of showgirls and starlets, his divorce from his long-suffering wife and questions over his relationship with an 18-year-old blonde lingerie model.