Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi speaks next to Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti, at Italy»s Chamber of Deputies.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi today called a vote of confidence in his government, saying a collapse of his centre-right coalition now would be catastrophic for the country and its economy.
Under pressure over corruption and sex scandals and facing criticism for his centre-right government’s erratic handling of the economic crisis, Berlusconi has accused the left-wing opposition of «obsessively» seeking to drive him from office.
In an impassioned address to parliament, he said there was no viable alternative to his government and that if it fell now, the only alternative would be early elections.
«A government crisis now would be a victory for those who want to see (Italy) fall into decline, catastrophe and the kind of speculation we have seen for months in Europe and Italy,» Berlusconi said.
Berlusconi, under pressure by Italy’s president as well as the central bank governor to prove he can deal with the nation’s myriad social and economic problems, said he was confident that he would win the vote, which is due to be held early Friday afternoon.
Berlusconi also said his coalition was united despite occasional «accidents» such as a loss of a key parliamentary vote on Tuesday that triggered the latest crisis in his coalition and repeated a vow to balance the budget by 2013.
In a boost to the premier’s prospects, Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League ally in the coalition, said Berlusconi was «convincing» and predicted the government would win the vote.
Analysts say that even if Berlusconi wins, he will emerge so bruised that it will be only a matter of months before a new crisis hits and that the country will likely hold early elections next year, a year before they are scheduled.
Most opposition parties boycotted the speech but then returned for the debate and said they would vote against Berlusconi on Friday.
«The speech in political terms was simply pathetic. Pathetic,» said Pierluigi Bersani, head of the Democratic Party, the largest in the opposition. «Apart from the confidence vote, how does he intend to make this government work? He just didn’t give any answers.»
Berlusconi sought the confidence vote after the coalition – racked by internal dissent – suffered a major embarrassment when it failed to pass a routine budget provision on Tuesday.
A number of centre-right deputies were absent for that vote, infuriating Berlusconi and feeding suspicions that some dissenters deliberately stayed away to send a message to the prime minister about the deep malaise within the coalition.
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