ROME: Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta must ask parliament to confirm its backing of his government after centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party withdrew its support two days ago, the country’s president said yesterday.
Since Letta won a confidence vote in the Senate over the 2014 budget without the backing of Forza Italia on Tuesday, the confirmation is likely to be a procedural formality done at the request of Berlusconi’s party. Forza Italia had been a member of the ruling right-left coalition since April, when it was put together to end a political stalemate that followed a deadlocked national election in February.
After meeting a Forza Italia delegation, President Giorgio Napolitano said “there will no doubt be a parliamentary passage to mark the shift from the grand coalition government to the one that won confidence over the budget”, a spokesman said.
The “form and timing” of the parliamentary discussion will be discussed by the president and Letta in coming days, the spokesman said.
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