Berlusconi wrote to the presidents of the Senate and the lower Chamber of Deputies saying he decided to seek the crucial vote in view of the planned pullout from his Cabinet of ministers loyal to breakaway ally Gianfranco Fini.
If Berlusconi loses a confidence vote, he must resign. If the center-right leader can't assemble another government, President Giorgio Napolitano can call early elections, widely expected to be held next spring.
But the premier insisted that before he puts his government's survival on the line, Parliament must first pass legislation providing for Italy's national budget. Lawmakers have been trying for weeks to come up with budget cuts while worrying that voters will punish them at the polls if elections come soon.
No date was set for the confidence votes. It is not clear when the budget will be approved.
Fini, who is Chamber president and co-founder with Berlusconi of the main coalition People of Freedom party, has demanded Berlusconi's resignation.
Berlusconi swept to victory in 2008 parliamentary elections that gave him comfortable margins in the legislative chambers. But his nasty feuding with Fini, over what the Chamber leader has complained is Berlusconi's too-strong hand in controlling the party, rocked the coalition.
Fini's followers backed Berlusconi in a confidence vote in late September, temporarily staving off the prospect of early elections. The premier won with a pitch for support to avoid political instability at a time of global financial woes.
Besides betrayal by allies, the 74-year-old Berlusconi has been stung by allegations of involvement with prostitutes and with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl who was among many young women invited to soirees at his private residences.
This article appeared on page A - 10 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Read more: News
No comments:
Post a Comment