Berlusconi hoopt op vervroegde verkiezingen na val kabinet-Prodi (en)
Italy has plunged deeper into political crisis after centre-left leader Romano Prodi narrowly lost a vote of confidence in the country's senate and resigned, with his chief political opponent, Silvio Berlusconi, pressing for early elections, which polls suggest he could easily win.
The country's senate - the upper parliamentary chamber - gave a negative verdict to Mr Prodi's government on Thursday (24 January), with 161 votes against to 156 in favour, mainly due to protests by small coalition parties against changes in election laws.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano is due to hold talks with political leaders about a next move. He himself favours appointing an interim government that would push through electoral reforms, according to press reports.
Its current version was adopted hastily by the then prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, before the previous parliamentary elections, enabling smaller parties with only a handful of seats to hold the balance of power in parliament.
It was primarily due to the loss of three votes from the centrist Udeur party in the Senate that the 68-year-old Mr Prodi, twice previously prime minister and ex-president of the European Commission, was eventually defeated just after 20 months in office.
While his most likely successor, Walter Veltroni, currently mayor of Rome, has indicated he agrees with president Napolitano about the need to form an interim government, the centre-right opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi is demanding snap elections.
Despite opinion polls showing little trust by ordinary Italians in national political elites, the surveys also suggest Mr Berlusconi would comfortably win and could make an early come-back as the country's prime minister just as he had predicted it after his own defeat by Mr Prodi in 2006.
After the vote in the Senate late on Thursday, Mr Berlusconi announced a surprise party at his house in Rome, saying "We will say what we want to do in the first 100 days of our government," according to the BBC.
Beyond the latest internal struggles in the centre-left nine-party coalition and the recent resignation of justice minister Clemente Mastella, Mr Prodi was also facing criticism due to problems with waste management in Naples and tax rises that have overshadowed the recent improved overall economic situation.