Craxi resignation creates headache
NZPA-Reuter Rome Italy’s Prime Minister, Bettino Craxi, has dissolved his Government, pitching Italy into a crisis and possibly an early General Election. Mr Craxi, a Socialist, handed in the resignation of his squabbling fiveparty Government yesterday, saying the political atmosphere had become “suffocating and noxious.” President Francesco Cossiga will begin consultations tomorrow with former Heads of State and political leaders to see how Italy’s forty-sixth post-war Government can be formed.
The man widely tipped to be given the task of rebuilding the crumbled coalition is a five-times Prime Minister, Giulio Andreotti. His last administration survived only 11 days in 1979 and plunged the country into 126 days of political turmoil.
Mr Andreotti, Foreign Minister under Mr Craxi, is a Christian Democrat. Several senior Socialists have already said they will not accept Mr Andreotti as the man to rebuild the coalition, which has been torn by
rows especially between the two factions.
Political analysts say that if tbe rows continue between the two parties the most likely outcome would be a General Election a year ahead of schedule.
Mr Craxi had headed two successive governments since August, 1983, giving Italy an unusually long period of political stability during which its economic achievements and foreign policy won international praise. During his tenure, Italy has undergone what some commentators have called an economic miracle. Inflation has been slashed, Italian companies are prospering at home and abroad and, according to some statistics, Italy has overtaken Britain as the world’s fifth industrial power.
Last July, after the resignation of Mr Craxi’s first government — which set a record as the longest-lasting single administration since 1945 — he had agreed to hand over the Prime Minister’s job to the Christian Democrats this month.
As Italy’s largest party, the Christian Democrats
had been itching to reclaim the top post from the Socialists, who rank third in the political hierarchy.
The Christian Democrats, who have headed all but four governments since World War 11, were the senior partners in Mr Craxi’s coalition, which also included the Republicans, the SocialDemocrats and the Liberals.
The Communists, Italy’s second-largest party, have been excluded from all governments since 1948. Commentators say the group of five in the outgoing Government offer the only workable political solution.
Commentators expect the crisis to be a long one. Early elections, for which no party wants to be held responsible, might be inevitable if the Christian Democrats and the Socialists do not patch up their differences.
As is customary with Italian government crises, President Cossiga reserved his decision on whether to accept Mr Craxi’s resignation. Mr Craxi and his Government will remain in a caretaker capacity.
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Press, 5 March 1987, Page 10
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441Craxi resignation creates headache Press, 5 March 1987, Page 10
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