Berlusconi: mogelijk vervroegde verkiezingen aan het einde van het jaar (en)
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is on Wednesday (25 August) set to hold talks with right-wing leader Umberto Bossi, the main partner in his frail center-right coalition, after admitting that there is a serious prospect of early elections by the end of the year.
"We must be prepared for all eventualities such as, for example, elections within a short time," Mr Berlusconi said in a message posted on the website of his People of Freedom Party (PDL).
Parliamentary support for the ruling coalition last month was dented when a group of 30 lawmakers left the party, disgruntled by Mr Berlusconi's push to limit judicial powers and his failure to crack down on corruption within government ranks. The splinter group is led by Gianfranco Fini, the speaker of the house and a co-founder of the PDL.
November or December are seen as possible dates for snap elections, which would take place almost three years before the end of the current mandate.
Mr Bossi has also indicated he favours elections before the end of the year. His hard-right party, the Northern League, holds 59 of the 630 seats in the lower house and fared well in regional elections this spring.
"Mr Berlusconi is being too cautious," the right-winger told a rally north of Milan late Monday.
A vote of confidence over a revamped government programme is scheduled after the summer recess. The package was approved by PDL last week and focuses on five "non-negotiable" priorities, notably judicial and fiscal reforms.
"It is obvious that if the cohesion of the majority were to break down on even one of these five points ... we would not accept being frazzled," Mr Berlusconi wrote in his message.
July polls show that despite the crisis, Mr Berlusconi is still ahead of any opposition leader. The PDL and the Northern League are expected to win again the lower house and possibly the Senate, while Mr Fini's group is set to fare badly.