MSG166G/01E ITALY: Berlusconi Resigns

ROME, Dic 22 (IPS) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned on Thursday after it became clear he would lose a vote of no confidence and be removed from office.

A communique from Berlusconi's office read, "The Prime Minister informs the cabinet that as a result of the new political situation, he is asking President of the Republic Oscar Scalfaro to dismiss the government."

Scalfaro said that he would consider the formation of a new majority government before he would call for new elections.

The current coalition government was elected in March after the previous fell due to massive corruption scandals.

Berlusconi's coalition included his Forza Italia, the Northern League and the neofascist National Alliance, but a split formed when League leader Umberto Bossi presented a no confidence motion to Parliament in conjunction with the former communist Italian People's Party (PPI).

PPI leader Rocco Buttiglione refuted the Prime Minister's accusatons of an opposition plot, saying the government fell as a result of bad leadership and the incompatability of Berlusconi's private and public interests.

Berlusconi owns a business empire with a turnover of seven billion dollars per year, including the three leading private television channels in Italy.

The Northern League is currently suffering its own internal difficulties strife, with a dissident faction rejecting the call for new elections or any government formed by the League with centre and left wing parties.

"We need a government that will last, perhaps a broader version of the present coalition," dissident representative Luigi Negri said.

Bossi thinks that with PDS and PPI support he can form a new government and take Italy to institutional and electoral reform, although it is widely believed that new elections now would be a mistake.

"The tense climate reinforces our belief that bringing the elections forward would damage the country and the democratic system," wrote PDS leader Massimo d'Alema.

"We need a cease fire on the government ... so that we can form a common foundation and shared rules to develop our democratic system," he said.

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