Italy’s Premier Quits, Seeks New Coalition

Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema resigned Saturday night after contending that he has enough parliamentary support to put together a new, stronger government.

President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi asked D’Alema to stay on in a caretaker role while consultations are held to find a political consensus to forge a new coalition.

D’Alema, emerging from his meeting with Ciampi, expressed “conviction that the forces of the center-left will again find the path of working together to give the country a strong government able to face open questions and guide the legislature to the end of its term” in 2001.

The presidential palace said consultations would begin early today, starting with the heads of the Senate--the upper house of Parliament--and the lower Chamber of Deputies.

While D’Alema was meeting with Ciampi, seven of the 11 parties in the premier’s coalition approved a declaration to support him. Other partners had indicated earlier that, while they might not join a new D’Alema government, they might promise to back the coalition in Parliament.

Earlier, contending that Italy didn’t need “traumatic” early elections, D’Alema made a pitch for a renewed, stronger government.

His coalition has been tormented by infighting for weeks, and this month, the Socialists--one of the tiniest parties in the 14-month-old government--demanded that he step down.

State radio reported Saturday that D’Alema hoped to put together a new coalition by Christmas.

Italian political reporters have calculated that D’Alema can count on support from 318 of the 630 members in the lower chamber, which would allow him to squeak by in the required confidence vote, which calls for a simple majority.

D’Alema should be able to count on a wider majority in the 315-seat Senate. He would need to win a vote of confidence in both houses.

His pitch for a renewed mandate pleased a major coalition member, the Democrats, once led by former Premier Romano Prodi, but it left the Socialists unmoved.

“It’s difficult with this premier to beat the Freedom Alliance,” said Socialist leader Enrico Boselli, referring to media mogul Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative opposition bloc.

The opposition was scathing in its reaction to D’Alema’s bid for a renewed mandate.

“If he wanted to put on a new farce, D’Alema couldn’t have done better,” said Enrico Loggia, Senate whip for Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (Go, Italy) party.

D’Alema’s coalition has been weakened almost from the start by disagreements among partners over issues ranging from Italy’s support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s air campaign last spring against Yugoslavia to proposals to speed up pension reforms.

Already tense, the political climate in Parliament was worsened over the last few days by allegations by at least two opposition deputies that they were offered money and government posts in exchange for promising to support the coalition. The allegation was hotly denied by the deputy who allegedly made the offer.