Monday, March 04, 2013
Prospect of new Italy vote heightens as Grillo faces ultimatum
By Steve Scherer
ROME (Reuters) - Italy appeared to be inching toward another round of elections on Monday after centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani issued an ultimatum to 5-Star Movement leader Beppe Grillo to support a temporary government or "we'll all go home".
 |
Five-Star Movement leader and comedian Beppe Grillo gestures during a rally in Turin February 16, 2013. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino |
Appearing on RAI state television late on Sunday, Bersani ruled out another technocrat government like the last one, led by Mario Monti. Last week's vote left no one with a working majority in parliament, making an alliance with a rival the only solution to forming a government.
"Now (Grillo) must say what he wants, otherwise we all go home, including him," Bersani said.
Financial markets are watching Italy closely and the spread between Italian 10-year benchmark bonds and German bunds - a measure of investor confidence - widened on Monday to an almost three-month high as the country entered its second week of gridlock.
Grillo last week called Bersani a "dead man talking" when the centre-left leader made first overtures to Grillo's populist movement, which became Italy's single biggest party in its first national test.
On Monday and Tuesday, Grillo will meet with the 163 new 5-Star lawmakers, who have never before been in parliament, to talk about their strategy ahead of parliament's first session on March 15, and subsequent formal consultations with President Giorgio Napolitano on the formation of a government.
Napolitano, who has the power to dissolve parliament and select prime ministers, has said he wants to avoid an immediate round of new elections.
- Group gathers outside Jinjang lockup, remand hearings for trio ongoing
- Najib and Palanivel to discuss deaths in police custody
- Single-party Barisan Nasional is feasible, says Muhyiddin
- Rafizi: PKR filing election petition for Balik Pulau parliamentary seat
- Karpal calls for state-level Senate elections
- Copies of Opposition tabloids seized for violating permit
- Rally organisers told to adhere to Act or face the music
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Umno leaders back police action against those who utter seditious remarks
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Thousands throng thanksgiving rally by DAP
- Set aside differences, Malaysians told
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Adam pleads not guilty to giving seditious speech
- Large migrant population a security risk to Sabah, RCI told
- Malaysia tycoon Vincent Tan plans IPO of football club Cardiff City
- Google, like Facebook, in talks to buy Waze for about US$1bil
- Crown selling entire 10% in rival Echo, partly owned by Genting(Update)
- First edition of 'Great Gatsby' to be sold at auction, can fetch US$150,000
- Malaysia leads the way in Basel III debt
- Markets face rough summer ride as Fed pullback feared
- Wall Street sags, HP hits 52-week high
- Commodities trader sues BP, Shell others for alleged oil price fixing
- Billionaire Icahn seeks up to US$7bil for Dell bid
- Google faces new federal antitrust probe
- Goldman Sachs unveils checks on conflicts in bid to fix tarnished image
- Air Asia's Tony Fernandes to ‘fire up’ investors
- Maybank bullish on growth, to expand regionally under new leadership
- Khazanah appoints Nor Mohamed deputy chairman
- Lafarge Malayan Cement to finalise next expansion plans by August
- Kingston leads, McIlroy in Wentworth woe
- LPGA plans 12-hole rounds in water-logged Bahamas
- Ryan Palmer sizzles with 62 to seize lead at Colonial
- Kelly overcomes scare to clinch title in KLGCC
- Time to make amends Garcia wants to meet Woods to defuse racist row
- American Johnson back to defend Colonial crown
- Rain dampens debut of LPGA Bahamas event
- Tianlang adds another US event to schedule
- Clock ticking for next golden generation
- Nadal wants to create history at Roland Garros
- Serena out to tame French Open demons
- Zheng Jie stuns Wozniacki in Brussels
- British Open: Ramy Ashour racks up 38th successive win
- Nicol David sails into quarter-finals of British Open in 35 minutes
- BAM must stop rewarding mediocrity or be doomed
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Thousands throng thanksgiving rally by DAP
- Rally organisers told to adhere to Act or face the music
- DJ stands by hubby in molest case
- Copies of Opposition tabloids seized for violating permit
- Adam pleads not guilty to giving seditious speech
- Umno leaders back police action against those who utter seditious remarks
- Large migrant population a security risk to Sabah, RCI told
- Air Asia's Tony Fernandes to ‘fire up’ investors
- Singapore GDP growth surprises, beats economists’ forecast of contraction
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Malaysia leads the way in Basel III debt
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Inventions a-plenty, but no real innovation
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Malaysia tycoon Vincent Tan plans IPO of football club Cardiff City
- Lower profit for Unico-Desa, hit by depressed CPO prices
- Daibochi expanding exports to S-E Asia and Australia
RSS
