Berlusconi’s coalition ally Umberto Bossi, head of the federalist Northern League party emerged from a meeting at the prime minister’s residence near Milan late on Monday to say that they intended to meet the head of state soon.“The first step will be to ask that Fini be removed from the chamber,” he told reporters.
The latest move in a crisis that has dominated Italian politics for months follows a scathing speech on Sunday by Fini, who was expelled in July from the ruling People of Freedom (PDL) party he helped create after months of friction with Berlusconi. The split has cost Berlusconi his secure majority in parliament and left the future of the government open. The meeting between Berlusconi, Bossi and several government ministers lasted late into the night as they sought a response to Fini, who struck a hostile tone in his speech but at the same time indicated he would not seek to topple the government.
Berlusconi, 73, has tied the future of his center-right government to a five-point program of measures ranging from justice reforms to help for the poor south of Italy which will be the subject of a confidence motion in parliament. The 58 year-old Fini, who has the support of 34 lower house deputies and 10 senators, has the numbers to block legislation but he has appeared reluctant to force the government’s hand and push Italy into elections before the scheduled date of 2013.
Parliament resumes
Monday’s declaration comes as the lower house of parliament prepares to resume sitting today and appears to point to a harder line from Berlusconi, who issued a statement at the weekend saying he did not expect early elections. Any election would have to be ordered by Napolitano, who could also try to appoint an interim government, an option that has been pre-emptively rejected by officials from both the PDL and the Northern League. The Northern League, which has strong regional support, has been pressing Berlusconi to go to the polls, aware that it is likely to be in a position to play kingmaker after any vote given the weakness of the opposition center-left.
