Italy looks certain to face early election

Press, 10 April 1987, Page 10

Italy looks certain to face early election

NZPA-Reuter Rome Italy looks almost certain to face premature general elections following a decision by the majority Christian Democrat party to withdraw all its Ministers from the country’s forty-fifth postwar Government. The Christian Democrats, who constituted more than half of the 30member Cabinet, announced their withdrawal yesterday and thereby forced the collapse of the five-party coalition led by the Socialists of Prime Minister Bettino Craxi. Political sources said the move, which followed five weeks of conflict between Christian Democrats and Socialists, had effectively sounded the final death knell for the Government, making early general elections almost inevitable. The next elections in Italy are not due until 1988.

The 16 Christian Democrat Ministers in the 30member Cabinet told Mr Craxi of their resignation in a letter yesterday, before a Senate debate on

the Government which President Francesco Cossiga had ordered when he rejected the coalition’s resignation last week. The administration had resigned on March 3, but President Cossiga rejected the move and sent Mr Craxi back to face Parliament for a confidence debate which began yesterday. Political sources said Mr Craxi, who has led two separate but identical administrations for years, was likely to tell President Cossiga after the debate that the Government no longer existed and resign. President Cossiga was then expected to nominate another politician as Prime Minister designate to try and form a government. Since there seems no way around the Christian Democrat-Socialist impasse, this person is expected merely to lead the nation into elections. Social Democrat leader Franco Nicolazzi said yesterday that if no signs of willingness were forthcoming and it proved im-

possible to rebuild the original coalition government then it was “obvious” that elections would be held.

The government crisis began because of an argument between the two dominant parties in the coalition over the premiership.

Over the last five weeks, efforts to reconstruct the fragile Coalition have foundered because of disagreement over referendums due in June on nuclear energy and legal reform which the Socialists support, but the Christian Democrats oppose. Political sources said these issues masked a much deeper struggle for political dominance between the Christian Democrats, Italy’s largest party, and the Socialists whose 11 per cent support at the polls gives them a crucial power-broking role.

Some commentators believe their relations have now become so bitter that it will be hard for the two parties to reunite in a new alliance, even after the next general elections.