Prodi forges ahead with plans to take power

ROME – Centre-left leader Romano Prodi forged ahead yesterday with preparations to take power, brushing aside Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s refusal to concede defeat in Italy’s bruising elections.

“It’s very sad that such things can happen in a mature democracy,” Prodi said on Italian Sky TV, commenting on continuing protests by Berlusconi’s House of Freedoms coalition over the outcome of the hard-fought vote. “I have been working the past few days on the government’s agenda,” said the 66-year-old Prodi, whose Union coalition won control of the lower house Chamber of Deputies by just 24 755 votes, according to final results confirmed by the supreme court on Wednesday.”Sooner or later they will recognise how things are, and since we are patient we will continue to be so,” said the mild-mannered Prodi, a stark contrast to the flamboyant Berlusconi, Italy’s richest man.But while Berlusconi and some of his inner circle including Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti persisted in challenging the outcome of the vote, many in the centre-right looked forward instead to fighting Prodi from the opposition benches.Writing in the pro-Berlusconi Il Giornale newspaper, a senator from Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, still Italy’s largest, called Prodi’s win a “Phyrric victory” by an unwieldy coalition made up of moderate Catholics, liberals and communists.”The flimsiness of his majority will send everyone back to the polls very soon,” he predicted.Official confirmation of the Senate vote, which Prodi’s coalition won by a two-seat majority according to provisional results, is still awaited by individual courts of appeal within the coming days.Berlusconi has so far made no public comment, but Tremonti told Tele 7 late on Wednesday: “There are some things that need to be cleared up.”The party’s national coordinator Sandro Bondi said the court – petitioned by Berlusconi to review thousands of contested ballots – should broaden its review to include the party’s unanswered grievances over “irregularities” in balloting of foreign voters.Former reforms minister Roberto Calderoli said yesterday: “I agree that in democracies whoever takes the most votes wins, but in this case using Bulgarian (undemocratic) methods …I don’t recognise the victory of the centre-left.”Calderoli, from Berlusconi’s coalition partner the Northern League, made an extraordinary claim, rejected by the supreme court, that more than 45 000 votes cast for a centre-left party in northern Lombardy should be ruled invalid because its candidates were registered in only one constituency.- Nampa-AFP”I have been working the past few days on the government’s agenda,” said the 66-year-old Prodi, whose Union coalition won control of the lower house Chamber of Deputies by just 24 755 votes, according to final results confirmed by the supreme court on Wednesday.”Sooner or later they will recognise how things are, and since we are patient we will continue to be so,” said the mild-mannered Prodi, a stark contrast to the flamboyant Berlusconi, Italy’s richest man.But while Berlusconi and some of his inner circle including Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti persisted in challenging the outcome of the vote, many in the centre-right looked forward instead to fighting Prodi from the opposition benches.Writing in the pro-Berlusconi Il Giornale newspaper, a senator from Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, still Italy’s largest, called Prodi’s win a “Phyrric victory” by an unwieldy coalition made up of moderate Catholics, liberals and communists.”The flimsiness of his majority will send everyone back to the polls very soon,” he predicted.Official confirmation of the Senate vote, which Prodi’s coalition won by a two-seat majority according to provisional results, is still awaited by individual courts of appeal within the coming days.Berlusconi has so far made no public comment, but Tremonti told Tele 7 late on Wednesday: “There are some things that need to be cleared up.”The party’s national coordinator Sandro Bondi said the court – petitioned by Berlusconi to review thousands of contested ballots – should broaden its review to include the party’s unanswered grievances over “irregularities” in balloting of foreign voters.Former reforms minister Roberto Calderoli said yesterday: “I agree that in democracies whoever takes the most votes wins, but in this case using Bulgarian (undemocratic) methods …I don’t recognise the victory of the centre-left.”Calderoli, from Berlusconi’s coalition partner the Northern League, made an extraordinary claim, rejected by the supreme court, that more than 45 000 votes cast for a centre-left party in northern Lombardy should be ruled invalid because its candidates were registered in only one constituency. – Nampa-AFP