ROME: Italian leftist leader Pier Luigi Bersani said yesterday that the recession-hit country was in a “dramatic situation” and needed “a government which performs miracles”, as he raced to try and shore up the support to govern.
Bersani was given the official go-ahead on Friday to try and form a government after February elections that left the country in political gridlock — but the leftist has come under increasing pressure from the centre right, led by rival Silvio Berlusconi, to share the task.
“The truth is that there is a dramatic situation... We need a government which performs miracles,” Bersani said after consultations with trade unions which precede talks with political parties today. The former Communist and head of the Democratic Party (PD) is seeking to establish a minority government reliant on votes from other parties in parliament. Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party (PDL) and allies are insisting that Bersani accept the idea of a “grand coalition” or the country must return to the vote. Any deal between Bersani and Berlusconi would anger supporters on the left and risk dividing the PD. AFP
