Prodi and Berlusconi
- January 25th, 2008
- Posted by 7thmin
Italy’s Prime Minister Romano Prodi warned that with disorder in the financial sector it was no time to overturn his government, but failing confidence in him within the governing centre-left coalition, has seen him defeated in a parliamentary vote.
The coalition of nine parties has struggled to keep together during its 20 months in office; it was hamstrung by a very narrow majority in the Senate, and it was a vote of no confidence in the upper house, 161-156, which brought it down (24.1.08).
That move is likely to cause the appointment of a caretaker government, to try to modify the proportional allocation of seats in the electoral system — which allowed 39 political parties into the present parliament.
The country might also go directly to elections, and in either case commentators in Italy say the right-wing former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, would have a strong chance of getting back in.
Picture: Romani Prodi, a former President of the European Commission , back at Brussels for a visit last October, (eu av).