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Politics of Italy
Matteo Renzi is expected to be offered to become Italian prime minister, as talks begin on forming a new government.
Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano is starting consultations following the resignation of Enrico Letta.
Enrico Letta was ousted in a vote called by Florence mayor Matteo Renzi at a meeting of their centre-left Democratic Party.
Matteo Renzi, 39, would become Italy’s youngest prime minister.
Enrico Letta was under increasing pressure over Italy’s poor economic performance.
After accepting the prime minister’s resignation, Giorgio Napolitano’s office said talks would begin with political leaders on finding a replacement.
Matteo Renzi is expected to be offered to become Italian prime minister, as talks begin on forming a new government
The consultations would be conducted swiftly to find an “efficient solution” and they would conclude on Saturday, the statement added.
Enrico Letta’s position became untenable once the Democratic Party backed a call for a new administration.
Matteo Renzi had argued that a change of government was needed to end “uncertainty”.
A new government should take over until the end of the current parliamentary term in 2018, he said.
Matteo Renzi had accused Enrico Letta of a lack of action on improving the economic situation, with unemployment at its highest level in 40 years and the economy shrinking by 9% in seven years.
Enrico Letta, 47, was also accused of failing to implement promised reforms of what is seen as an often corrupt and wasteful bureaucracy.
Youth unemployment has risen and Italians have grown increasingly impatient of the slow pace of reform and the continuing decline of families’ income and living standards.
Enrico Letta only lasted 10 months in the post after forming a coalition government with the centre-right last year. The prime minister, who drove himself from the presidential palace after resigning, took to Twitter to thank “all those who have helped me”.
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Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has decided to return to the centre of the political stage, striking a reform deal with a centre-left rival.
Silvio Berlusconi, 77, was thrown out of parliament in 2013 after a tax fraud conviction.
The former prime minister still heads the opposition Forza Italia party and held lengthy talks with Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi late on Saturday.
Under their agreement, Silvio Berlusconi will back electoral and constitutional proposals aimed at making Italy more governable.
The current electoral system has left Italy with a series of shaky coalitions.
Last year’s general election left no party strong enough to govern alone, until a broad coalition emerged, headed by Enrico Letta of the PD.
Silvio Berlusconi has agreed with centre-left rival Matteo Renzi over a reform deal
Silvio Berlusconi was initially part of the government but later pulled out. Several key former allies abandoned him to form the New Centre Right party while he became a more marginalized figure.
But he remained head of Italy’s biggest opposition faction, Forza Italia.
Matteo Renzi’s talks with the former centre-right prime minister have divided the coalition, and the PD in particular.
His car was hit with an egg and he was booed as he arrived at PD headquarters.
After the talks Silvio Berlusconi said the deal would “consolidate the biggest parties and simplify the political system”.
Matteo Renzi said the two leaders had backed a law that “favors governability and a bi-polar system, and eliminates the blackmail power of the smallest parties”.
Silvio Berlusconi is keen to make a political comeback despite his fraud conviction and a separate conviction for paying an underage prostitute. He is appealing against a seven-year jail term.
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The Italian Senate has voted to expel former PM Silvio Berlusconi from parliament with immediate effect over his conviction for tax fraud.
Silvio Berlusconi, who has dominated politics for 20 years, could now face arrest over other criminal cases as he has lost his immunity from prosecution.
Silvio Berlusconi could face arrest over other criminal cases as he has lost his immunity from prosecution
The 77-year-old told supporters in Rome it was a “day of mourning” for democracy.
Ahead of the vote, Silvio Berlusconi vowed to remain in politics to lead his Forza Italia in a “fight for the good of Italy”.
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Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi faces expulsion from parliament over his conviction for tax fraud.
The Senate will vote later on whether to expel the former prime minister.
Analysts say a large majority of senators is expected to back his expulsion.
The former PM has called for supporters to protest in Rome against what he says is a political vendetta.
The vote comes a day after Silvio Berlusconi withdrew his Forza Italia party from the coalition government.
Silvio Berlusconi, who has dominated politics for nearly two decades in Italy, had asked senators to delay the vote on his expulsion because he claims to have new evidence proving he did not commit tax fraud.
However, the vote is expected to go ahead on Wednesday evening.
Silvio Berlusconi faces expulsion from parliament over his conviction for tax fraud
Silvio Berlusconi, 77, threatened to topple the coalition government over the issue earlier this year but backed down during a confidence vote.
He old has dismissed the Senate, which is dominated by his political opponents, as biased against him.
Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in October 2012 over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films. The verdict was upheld in August.
Expulsion from parliament may lead to Silvio Berlusconi’s arrest over other criminal cases, as he would lose his immunity from prosecution.
He will have to serve a one-year sentence for his tax conviction, probably under house arrest or by doing community service because of his age.
Silvio Berlusconi has also been convicted of paying for s** with an underage prostitute and of a breach of confidentiality over a police wiretap. He is appealing against both convictions.
Both PM Enrico Letta’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and former comedian Beppe Grillo’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement have said they will vote against Silvio Berlusconi.
Enrico Letta’s government survived a confidence vote on the 2014 budget on Tuesday with the help of a group of dissidents who broke away from Berlusconi’s party earlier this month.
Silvio Berlusconi had said earlier that his party would vote against the budget, and the Forza Italia leader in the lower house soon declared that the party was moving into opposition.
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Former PM Silvio Berlusconi has relaunched Forza Italia (Go Italy) party as his People of Freedom (PDL) party split between his supporters.
“I am happy that we have returned to this name, the one we all still have in our hearts: Forza Italia,” Silvio Berlusconi said at a party conference in Rome before hundreds of delegates, who voted unanimously to the name change of the party with the 77-year-old leader again at its helm.
Silvio Berlusconi supporter, Senator Vincenzo Gibiino, said: “Forza Italia is reborn thanks to Berlusconi who has decided to throw himself into the fray for all our sakes.”
At least 250 delegates, however, were not present. This faction, led by former PDL deputy leader Angelino Alfano, previously said they would not attend the PDL party conference, announcing the formation of breakaway party called Nuovo centrodestra (New Centre Right).
Silvio Berlusconi has relaunched Forza Italia party as his People of Freedom party split between his supporters
Composed of between 56 and 60 parliamentarians, the Alfano group would be large enough to ensure the survival of the prime minister‘s government should Berlusconi supporters drop out of the ruling coalition under the leadership of centre-left PM Enrico Letta.
At the centre of PDL split is how the party would react to the possible expulsion of Berlusconi from parliament over a tax fraud conviction.
The possibility of parliamentary expulsion, the decision for which is to take place on November 27, is seen as likely because the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), the PDL‘s main coalition partner, is unwilling to let the scandal-prone politician keep his seat.
On Saturday, Silvio Berlusconi repeated his allegation that it was impossible for his party to remain in parliament with people who wanted the death of the one of the party‘s leaders.
The Alfano group, however, has argued the good of the country necessitated the continuance of the Letta government.
Negotiations within the PDL to prevent a party split continued until the last minute, with Alfano demanding in addition to remaining in the governing coalition an increase of democracy within the party and other issues.
In a 30-minute-long speech, Silvio Berlusconi appeared to signal his readiness to enter the opposition, criticizing the Letta government, accusing it of failed economic policies and lacking political will within Europe.
Silvio Berlusconi thundered against taxes and maintained that when he was head of government, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French former president Nicolas Sarkozy never liked him because he had “the experience and the will to say no to many of their suggestions.”
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Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been banned by Milan court from holding public office for two years, following his conviction for tax fraud.
However, the ban must be approved by parliament before taking effect.
Earlier this month, a cross-party panel of the Italian Senate recommended Silvio Berlusconi’s expulsion from the chamber.
Silvio Berlusconi, 77,had threatened to topple the coalition government over the issue but backed down during a confidence vote.
Silvio Berlusconi has been banned by Milan court from holding public office for two years, following his conviction for tax fraud
If he is expelled from the senate, Silvio Berlusconi will lose his parliamentary immunity from prosecution in a string of criminal cases.
The former prime minister will also spend a year under house arrest, or doing community service – his preferred option, according to a request he formally submitted last week.
The votes on Silvio Berlusconi’s expulsion and ban on holding office are expected to take place within the next few weeks.
Silvio Berlusconi was convicted over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films.
He was sentenced to four years in prison, automatically reduced to one under a 2006 pardon act.
Silvio Berlusconi was also banned from holding public office for five years. The sentence was upheld in August.
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A cross-party panel of the Italian Senate has recommended former PM Silvio Berlusconi’s expulsion from the chamber over his conviction for tax fraud.
The call to expel Silvio Berlusconi who dominated politics for nearly two decades in Italy is expected to go before the Senate within three weeks.
Silvio Berlusconi threatened to topple the coalition government over the issue but backed down during a confidence vote.
He accused the Senate panel of bias and stayed away from its deliberations.
The media tycoon was convicted of tax fraud in October 2012 over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films. The sentence was upheld in August.
The threat to PM Enrico Letta’s fragile coalition alarmed political leaders and markets alike in the eurozone, where Italy has the third-biggest economy and is struggling to address a huge national debt.
A cross-party panel of the Italian Senate has recommended Silvio Berlusconi’s expulsion from the chamber over his conviction for tax fraud
Silvio Berlusconi dismissed the panel, which is dominated by his political opponents, as biased against him.
“There is no possibility of any defense and there is no reason to appear before a body which has already announced what decision it is going to take through the press,” he said in a statement issued through his lawyers.
Representatives of both PM Enrico Letta’s centre-left Democratic Party and Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) party sit on the 23-strong Senate committee on elections and parliamentary immunity.
However, PdL members make up just over a quarter of the total.
Silvio Berlusconi emerged from Wednesday’s confidence vote a weakened figure with his capacity to influence Italian politics diminished.
Ousted from power in 2011, the 77-year-old billionaire nearly came back again earlier this year after an effective election campaign won him almost a third of the vote but legal troubles quickly beset him.
Silvio Berlusconi will have to serve a one-year sentence for his tax conviction, probably under house arrest or via community service because of his age.
In addition, Silvio Berlusconi has been convicted of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and of a breach of confidentiality over a police wiretap. He is appealing against both convictions.
Italy’s Prime Minister Enrico Letta has won a confidence vote after a last-minute U-turn by former PM Silvio Berlusconi.
Silvio Berlusconi had initially promised to topple the government by withdrawing his party’s support – a move which prompted the Senate vote.
But he backed down when it became clear that several of his senators would back the government.
Enrico Letta had earlier said that if he were defeated in the vote, it might prove a “fatal risk” for Italy.
In the event he won easily: the Senate voted 235 to 70 in favor of the government.
Some of Silvio Berlusconi’s most hardline followers left the chamber and did not vote at all.
The result of the vote increases the possibility of Silvio Berlusconi being thrown out of the Senate on the grounds he is a convicted criminal.
Enrico Letta has won a confidence vote after a last-minute U-turn by former PM Silvio Berlusconi
On Friday a Senate committee is due to vote on whether to strip him of his seat following his conviction for tax fraud.
As he left the Senate building on Wednesday, people outside greeted him with catcalls, whistles and cries of “go away”.
Last weekend, Silvio Berlusconi demanded that five ministers from his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) leave the government and bring it down.
But Silvio Berlusconi’s close ally Renato Schifani insisted he had not been weakened by the vote, telling Italian news agencies that his leadership “has been strengthened”.
When he rose to speak in the Senate to announce his turnaround, Silvio Berlusconi said: “Italy needs a government that can produce structural and institutional reforms. We have decided, not without internal travail, to back the confidence vote.”
The Milan stock exchange gained nearly 2% on the announcement.
In his address to the Senate, Enrico Letta defended his government’s performance and said Italy “runs a risk, a fatal risk” if it were to fall.
He said: “Give us your confidence to realize [our] objectives. Give us your confidence for all that has been accomplished… a confidence vote for Italy and Italians.”
Silvio Berlusconi had accused Enrico Letta of allowing his “political assassination through judicial means” – a reference to Berlusconi’s criminal conviction for tax fraud in August.
The former prime minister said he asked his ministers to defy the government to protest against an impending rise in VAT, not because of the attempts to throw him out of the Senate.
Enrico Letta accused Silvio Berlusconi of using the VAT issue as an “alibi” for his own personal concerns.
He refused to accept the resignation of the five PDL ministers and hence called the vote of confidence.
Silvio Berlusconi’s plan to bring the government down began to unravel when the ministers signaled their own unwillingness to leave the government, and even his deputy and party secretary, Angelino Alfano, said that PDL members should back Enrico Letta.
Analysts say the crisis threatened to hamper badly needed reforms to tackle Italy’s economic problems that include debt, recession and high youth unemployment.
Enrico Letta’s cross-party alliance was formed in April after two months of political deadlock following an inconclusive election.
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Italian PM Enrico Letta has been addressing parliament ahead of a crucial vote of confidence in his governing coalition.
Enrico Letta told the Senate the collapse of his government could be fatal for the country.
The vote was called after former PM Silvio Berlusconi ordered ministers in his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) to leave the government.
But some key PDL figures have defied him, saying they will back Enrico Letta.
Enrico Letta earlier rejected the resignations of the five PDL ministers.
Silvio Berlusconi has accused Enrico Letta of allowing his “political assassination through judicial means” – a reference to Berlusconi’s criminal conviction for tax fraud in August.
“Even though I understand the risks that I am taking on, I have decided to put an end to the Letta government,” Silvio Berlusconi said in a letter to the weekly magazine Tempi.
However, Silvio Berlusconi appeared more circumspect on arrival at the Senate on Wednesday, saying: “We’ll see what happens. We’ll listen to Letta’s speech and then we’ll decide.”
Addressing the Senate, Enrico Letta defended his government’s performance and said Italy “runs a risk, a fatal risk” if it were to fall.
Italian PM Enrico Letta has been addressing parliament ahead of a crucial vote of confidence in his governing coalition
He said: “Give us your confidence to realize [our] objectives. Give us your confidence for all that has been accomplished… a confidence vote for Italy and Italians.”
In an apparent break with Silvio Berlusconi, his deputy and party secretary Angelino Alfano said PDL MPs should back Enrico Letta in the confidence vote.
“I am firmly convinced that our party as a whole should vote confidence in Letta,” said Angelino Alfano, who is also Italy’s interior minister.
The first vote on Wednesday is in Senate and is expected around midday. This will be the crucial moment, as it is where Silvio Berlusconi’s allies have a narrow majority. The chamber of deputies will vote later.
Enrico Letta needs 161 votes in the Senate but can only count on the support of about 137 members, meaning he will need about 25 votes from others.
There are reports that between 30 and 40 PDL senators may vote for the government.
Angelino Alfano’s comments had caused the Italian stock market to jump on Tuesday as investors appeared increasingly confident that the government would not fall.
Carlo Giovanardi, a senator from Silvio Berlusconi’s party, indicated he would support the government, adding: “We want to remain a moderate force.”
Fabrizio Cicchitto, a PDL deputy, said: “Making the government fall would be a mistake.”
He said any new government would be “hostile to the PDL” and would be a boon for Enrico Letta’s centre-left Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, Enrico Letta refused to accept the resignations of five ministers from the PDL, Italy’s Ansa news agency reported, citing a government source.
Enrico Letta called the vote of confidence after Silvio Berlusconi ordered his ministers to leave the government in protest at a rise in VAT (sales tax).
The prime minister accused Silvio Berlusconi of using the issue as an “alibi” for his own personal concerns.
Analysts say the crisis threatens to hamper badly needed reforms to tackle Italy’s economic problems that include debt, recession and high youth unemployment.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that political tensions are a risk to the Italian economy.
Enrico Letta’s cross-party alliance was formed in April after two months of political deadlock following an inconclusive election.
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