• by IPS Correspondents (rome)
• Wednesday, December 21, 1994
• Inter Press Service

ROME, Dic 21 (IPS) - "If the government falls, elections must be called," said Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday at the opening of the parliamentary debate on the motions to remove him.

"In this Parliament, only one majority was chosen by the electorate," he added, "the Pole of Liberty. If it is dissolved, we must calmly and decidedly go back to the voters."

Berlusconi's centre-right 'Pole of Liberty' coalition government was elected in March by 46.2 percent of the voters. The group includes Forza Italia, the neo-fascist National Alliance, the Northern League and other minor parties.

The Prime Minister was in Parliament to face three no confidence motions, one of which was proposed by his ally turned adversary, the Northern League.

Some members of this party are planning to convene a new majority government with the opposition - the former christian democrat People's Party (PPI) and the former communist Democratic Party (PDS) - while the others are still backing Berlusconi.

If a no confidence vote passes and the government falls, President of the Republic Oscar Scalfaro will have the options of reinstating or replacing the Prime Minister or calling new elections.

Berlusconi also criticised Northern League leader Umberto Bossi.

"For seven long months, Bossi has put patience to the test, not only mine, but that of all the government .... the Italians have been submitted to a bombardment of insults, outrageous accusations, lies and libel."

He accused Bossi of engineering a "huge electoral robbery," betraying the outcome of the March elections and the people.

"The stability and credibility of our institutions have been endangered and seriously damaged," Berlusconi said, "Italian international prestige and confidence in our currency and shares on the international market" have also been adversely affected.

He called Bossi a "political destroyer," and said that the government had been mistaken when they thought they were dealing with a loyal politician, instead "finding ourselves faced with a double, treble and perhaps even quadruple personality," who was prepared to put the country at risk out of pure malice.

Berlusconi stated that he was disappointed with the PDS and PPI, and accused party leaders of impeding any kind of talks and resorting to propagandist manipulation.

After Berlusconi's speech, the debate was opened to the floor, and it is thought that discussions on the issue could continue well into Friday.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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