Italian Parliament to hold confidence votes on struggling government

[News_Editor]

Italian Parliament to hold confidence votes on struggling government

2010-11-17 08:57:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

ROME, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- The Italian Parliament on Tuesday will decide the future of the struggling government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in two confidence votes, officials said.

The two confidence votes are scheduled to take place on December 14. The result of the voting may cause early elections. However, the votes in the lower house and the Senate will not come until the parliament votes on the 2011 budget law.

The 2011 budget is currently the top priority of Italy as it is considered vital to guarantee the stability of the country’s public finances. Next year's budget is expected to include spending cuts worth 13 billion Euros.

Berlusconi will face the most important date in his political career as a negative vote would force him to resign. His Senate majority is expected to support him in the upper house vote, but he no longer enjoys a majority in the lower house which could vote against him.

The decision to hold the two confidence votes came one day after four government officials resigned which apparently brought Berlusconi’s government at risk of collapse. European affairs minister Andrea Ronchi, a deputy minister and two undersecretaries left their posts.

The announcement was the latest development in the Fini-Berlusconi dispute. The Italian Prime Minister discharged Gianfranco Fini as speaker of the lower house last July following months of public acrimony.

After that, Fini formed the Future and Liberty for Italy group, a new political party. After Monday’s events, the Italy’s ruling conservative majority is no longer guaranteed as Fini commands the support of more than 40 deputies and senators.

Once a loyal partner, Fini has turned against Berlusconi, accusing him of running the government like one of the companies in his vast business empire and attacking him over a series of corruption scandals.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-11-17