Italy’s government. Finalmente!

Date: 06/05/06

Silvio Berlusconi goes, but Romano Prodi still has problems

A MERE three weeks after losing the election, Silvio Berlusconi resigned as prime minister on May 2nd. Characteristically, he claimed that his had been the best government in the history of the Italian republic. It was certainly led by the worst loser: Mr Berlusconi refused to congratulate the winner, Romano Prodi, insisting that the centre-left had fiddled the vote.

The media tycoon, who will stay as caretaker until a new government is formed, was forced out after last weekend's votes for the two speakers in parliament showed that Mr Prodi had a majority in both chambers. But in the Senate, it took four attempts to elect the centre-left's choice, Franco Marini. At times the proceedings dissolved into hilarity as senators argued over the correct form of the candidate's name.

The outcome nevertheless clears the way for Mr Prodi to form a new government--eventually. Before then, however, a new head of state must be chosen. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi reaches the end of his term on May 18th and he is unlikely to have time before then for the elaborate consultations with party leaders that are required before a president can name a new prime minister. This week Mr Ciampi turned down a plea by the centre-right to stay on. No wonder. Italy's 85-year-old president has been looking forward to a well-earned retirement and would be 92 by the end of another presidential term.

Mr Ciampi, a punctilious interpreter of the constitution, was a constant thorn in Mr Berlusconi's side. His new-found merit in the eyes of the centre-right was that he might have blocked the election of somebody more closely aligned with the centre-left. Mr Prodi's followers have a majority in the college that will decide the presidency, and after a third ballot a simple majority will be enough. Mr Ciampi's refusal to run again has increased the chances of the job going to Massimo D'Alema, a former prime minister who previously had hopes of winning the speakership of the lower house, which went to Fausto Bertinotti, a harder-line former communist.

If Mr D'Alema gets the nod, it could ease Mr Prodi's immediate difficulty, which is to form a government agreeable to his allies. A non-party expert, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, is expected to take the finance ministry. A former board member of the European Central Bank and an architect of European economic and monetary union, Mr Padoa-Schioppa would do much to restore the markets' confidence in Italy. It is the other portfolios that could prove divisive.

Mr D'Alema's party, the Democrats of the Left, which grew out of the old Italian Communist Party, is the biggest in the centre-left alliance. It failed to win either of the powerful speakerships and keenly feels it is overdue a glittering prize. The presidency suits nicely. But it is a fine judgment whether the choice of a former communist as president would help or hinder Mr Prodi in the long run.

Apart from Mr D'Alema, the other centre-left runners include another former prime minister, Giuliano Amato, and Mr Marini. Mr Berlusconi is backing his factotum, Gianni Letta. The election of any candidate not agreed with the centre-right would infuriate not only an already embittered Mr Berlusconi but also some of his more reasonable allies. That, in turn, might dash any remaining hope of the two sides collaborating on the reforms that Italy so desperately needs.