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Silvio Berlusconi's pre-election pledge to reimburse a property tax for home owners does not necessarily mean he has returned to favour among Italian voters.

Italy's inconclusive general elections this week have left the country in a limbo that it cannot afford to be in and which also poses a threat to the entire eurozone. It would be premature to draw any conclusions on potential coalitions, but the remarkable comeback of the centre-right鈥檚 party leader Silvio Berlusconi just a few months after he was deemed 鈥榩olitically dead鈥� is sparking some much-needed soul searching in political circles.

The key to Berlusconi鈥檚 return is a highly unpopular property tax called IMU (Imposta Municipale Unica), which was introduced by the Monti government to bolster Italy's fiscal resources. The tax is levied on all homeowners, although it draws a distinction between primary and other residences.

On the eve of the general elections, many Italians received an envelope at home bearing in capitals 鈥淩EIMBURSEMENT OF THE IMU鈥�. The letter inside contained a form for a reimbursement of the tax and a letter from Berlusconi, promising the abolition of the IMU fiscal duty on first homes should he be re-elected.

Berlusconi said voters could go to the nearest post office to cash in the reimbursement or send him their bank account number in order to receive the money directly. The party leader even promised to pay the reimbursements out of his own pocket, should he not be able to pass a law to abolish the tax following his reinstatement into government.

Italy has one of the highest home ownership rates in the world. Not surprisingly, Italian homeowners were elated to receive Berlusconi's pre-election pledge.

'Conoscere i propri polli' literally means 麓to know one麓s chickens麓 and is a popular Italian expression used to indicate that a person understands well the people he is dealing with. Berlusconi's remarkable comeback at the elections does not necessarily mean that he has returned to favour among Italian voters. But the populist leader certainly 'knows his chickens well'.