Prodi resigns. Italian president seeks new government

Italian president to meet with political leaders Thursday to discuss new government PM Prodi resigned.

Izvor: AP

Thursday, 22.02.2007.

09:53

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Prodi resigns. Italian president seeks new government

The consultations at the presidential palace are aimed at determining which political leaders, if any, might be able to muster enough support for a parliamentary majority and thus avoid having to hold a new election. President Giorgio Napolitano might ask Prodi or another leader from his coalition to form a new center-left government. He could also ask an institutional figure above the political fray to form a government, possibly with broad support from both coalitions. Or he could call early elections.

Many observers say that Napolitano would be unlikely to call early elections since they would be far ahead of their 2011 schedule and would be held with the current electoral law, which many political forces want to reform before a new vote.

The premier's aides did not rule out the possibility that Napolitano would ask Prodi to form a new government, and from first discussions among some allies, support for another Prodi government seemed to be building.

But with a Senate he cannot fully control and a diverse coalition, any new Prodi government supported by the same forces would be dogged by instability. To avert the risk, some center-left party leaders were looking to centrist lawmakers who have left the conservative bloc led by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

On Wednesday, the government lost a motion in the Senate supporting the government's foreign policy, including maintaining a military presence in Afghanistan, by just two votes. The vote was not binding, but it signaled that Prodi did not muster command of the upper chamber on key policies, leading the premier to resign.

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