ROME — Italians fed up with the governing class and a stagnant economy voted yesterday in early parliamentary elections that could return conservative billionaire Silvio Berlusconi to power.

The 71-year-old press mogul’s main opponent is Walter Veltroni, a center-left former mayor of Rome who has promised deep reforms and an ideology-free approach to tackling the country’s problems.

A sense of malaise hung over the elections, with Italians pessimistic that the ruling class — dominated for years by the same key figures — can offer much chance of change.

“I’m not sure if I am going to vote,” 47-year-old Carlo Brunetti said in central Rome. “I have little faith this time.”

The election comes three years early due to the premature collapse of Romano Prodi’s left-wing government. Italy has a history of political instability, with more than 60 governments since World War II.

Whoever wins will face Italy’s perpetual dilemma — improving the economy, the world’s seventh largest. It has underperformed the rest of the euro zone for years and the International Monetary Fund forecasts growth of 0.3% this year, compared with a 1.4% average growth for the 15-country euro area.

Italian governments on both sides have failed to make the structural reforms that economists say are needed — either for lack of political will or consensus. On the household level, Italians are pressured by rising prices though salaries are among the lowest in Western Europe.

Signs of decline abound, from piles of trash in Naples, to a buffalo mozzarella heath scare that has hurt exports and hit one of the country’s culinary treasures, to the faltering sale of the state airline Alitalia. Italians increasingly blame the governing class — not just one political force or another — for the failure to solve the nation’s problems.

There are 945 parliamentary seats up for grabs in the vote, which was scheduled to last until 10 p.m. last night and then resume this morning until early afternoon.

Turnout was running at 64% late yesterday, slightly behind the 66% at the same time during the last vote in 2006.

Mr. Berlusconi, who has been prime minister twice before, led elections polls two weeks ago, but more recent polls showed Mr. Veltroni making a comeback. Whether Mr. Veltroni can prevail could depend on undecided voters, a significant portion of the nation’s 47 million voters, analysts say.