Andreotti Asked to Form New Government in Italy

Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Andreotti, a veteran Christian Democrat who was prime minister five times in the 1970s, was asked Monday to form another government.

Andreotti, 68, promptly began what promises to become a difficult round of negotiations to form Italy’s 46th postwar government.

The Socialist Party of caretaker Prime Minister Bettino Craxi has warned that it will veto any coalition formed by Andreotti, but nevertheless President Francesco Cossiga decided on Andreotti after a 20-minute meeting with him Monday at the presidential palace.

Craxi resigned March 3 after months of bickering with the Christian Democrats over, among other things, who would succeed him as head of the five-party coalition that had ruled since August, 1983.

Refusal to Honor Understanding

Craxi’s resignation punctuated his earlier refusal to honor an understanding with the Christian Democrats to step aside this month in order to permit an orderly transfer of the prime minister’s office to a Christian Democrat.

Craxi and his party aides have said repeatedly in recent weeks that they would not support a government headed by Andreotti but that they would accept either the Christian Democratic Party secretary, Ciriaco De Mita, or its president, Arnaldo Forlani.

“If Cossiga appoints Andreotti, he will condemn him to failure,” Claudio Martelli, the Socialist Party secretary, said in a weekend interview.

Seemingly unfazed by the resistance, Andreotti emerged from his meeting with Cossiga and announced that he will seek to organize the same five-party coalition that collapsed with Craxi’s resignation. The other three parties in the long-lived Craxi coalition government were the Republican, Liberal and Social Democratic.

Socialists Hold Power

If the Socialists carry out their threat to reject Andreotti as coalition leader, the prime minister-designate has little choice but to abandon the effort. Although they get only about 12% of the Italian vote, the Socialists hold the balance of power because no other party can form a coalition without them--unless it takes the unheard-of step of calling in the Communists. Political commentators consider it highly unlikely that Andreotti, even as a last resort, would seek the support of Italy’s large Communist Party, which has never held political power.

“The crisis continues, but we are still at the first steps,” said Renato Altissimo, secretary of the Liberal Party, commenting on Andreotti’s designation.

If Andreotti fails to form a government, Cossiga has two choices. He may name another leading politician to try to make a coalition, or he may call for early parliamentary elections, which are not scheduled until June of next year.