Italian government near collapse
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-05 09:20

Tensions persist in Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition, with one of the parties dangling the possibility it might pull out after a key minister resigned.

Tremonti was a key figure in Berlusconi's 3-year-old government. [AP Photo]

Giulio Tremonti, from Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, quit as economy minister Saturday after the premier's main coalition partner, National Alliance, issued an ultimatum -- him or us -- during a stormy meeting to plot the future of the three-year-old conservative government.

Tremonti's departure angered a smaller coalition partner, the Northern League, which raised the possibility it might exit the government. The League, a big booster of Tremonti, brought down Berlusconi's first government in 1994 when it yanked its support.

A League leader, Roberto Maroni said party officials at a meeting on Monday will assess if it is worth staying in the coalition. "I don't rule out anything," Sky TG24 TV quoted Maroni as saying on Sunday.

In an interview with the Northern League's newspaper, Umberto Bossi, the party's firebrand leader, lamented that Berlusconi had ceded to the ultimatum. Bossi is in Switzerland, where he is recovering from a stroke.

Tremonti had embarked on a plan of spending cuts to help Italy stay within deficit limits set by the European Union for participation in the euro currency.

The cuts would have likely targeted spending in the underdeveloped south, where the League, with its base in the affluent north, considers such investment a waste of taxpayers' money. The National Alliance is a big promoter of state spending on such projects.

After taking over the ministry until Tremonti's successor is named, Berlusconi was busy prepping for a key EU meeting Monday in Brussels to decide whether Italy should be formally reprimanded for its deficit situation.

Coalition squabbling was Berlusconi's latest political headache. Last month, his Forza Italia party suffered blows in European and local elections, and his coalition partners have been flexing their muscles.

If the coalition crumbles, parliamentary elections would likely be called, almost two years ahead of schedule. Berlusconi recently said he fears the center-left opposition would sweep into power if voters go to the polls now, especially if conservatives feel betrayed by a coalition breakup.

Italian newspapers reported Sunday that Berlusconi would like to see EU competition commission Mario Monti take over the economy post.

Monti returned to his home in Milan from Brussels Monday, fueling speculation he might meet with Berlusconi to discuss the job, Italian news reports said. Monti declined to talk to reporters outside his home.

Close

Today's Top News     Top World News
Experts: Interest rate rise not likely in short term         Farmers' income to jump 5% this year         Legal 'savior' fighting for his fees         Fire destroys Mao's former Wuhan residence         Schools: Aid students seeking jobs         Kim Jong-il wishes to visit Seoul -- report	Indonesians may dump Megawati in election       Allawi rejects charge that he's US puppet       Libyans find al Qaeda-linked militant camp -paper       Israel strikes Gaza workshops in day of violence       Kim Jong-il wishes to visit Seoul -- report       Group denies killing US Marine, Iraq pipeline hit