[Excerpt: The resignation, which may come later today, will end Italy's 59th government since November of 1945, the longest-serving in the history of the post-World War II republic. The Union of Christian Democrats party, the third-biggest in the four-way coalition, pushed Berlusconi to take the step by withdrawing its ministers from the Cabinet April 15.]
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=az2JIMk2rgos&refer=top_world_news Last Updated: April 18, 2005 10:35 EDT Berlusconi to Resign, Form New Government, Buttiglione Says April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi plans to resign to form a new government for the final year of the parliamentary term, bowing to an ally's demands for change after losing 11 out of 13 regional elections last week, a lawmaker in his coalition said. ``There will be a second Berlusconi government that adheres to the policies indicated by our party,'' Rocco Buttiglione, a member of the Union of Christian Democrats party who resigned as European Union Affairs Minister on April 15, said today in Rome. Buttiglione's comments, first reported by Ansa news agency, were confirmed by his spokesman. Support for Berlusconi, 68, has declined as the economy struggled, with growth last year slower than any of the dozen nations sharing the euro except for Portugal. Before national elections scheduled for 2006, allies including the Christian Democrats are opposing Berlusconi's plan to cut income taxes and boost spending on public works to help growth, instead demanding business-tax reductions and aid to Italy's depressed south. The resignation, which may come later today, will end Italy's 59th government since November of 1945, the longest-serving in the history of the post-World War II republic. The Union of Christian Democrats party, the third-biggest in the four-way coalition, pushed Berlusconi to take the step by withdrawing its ministers from the Cabinet April 15. The Christian Democrats leader Marco Follini asked the premier to resign and form a new government to revive support. Berlusconi refused as late as yesterday. Follini's goal is to set his party apart from Berlsuconi for future elections, said James Walston, head of international relations at the American University in Rome. Berlusconi's coalition won 8 percentage points less support than the opposition led by former European Commission President Romano Prodi in the regional elections. Berlusconi's Forza Italia party dropped more than 11 percentage points from 29 percent of total votes in the 2001 national elections. ``Follini is trying to prepare for Berlusconi's departure,'' Walston said. ``When Berlusconi goes, he'll leave 20 to 30 percent of the electorate up for grabs.'' To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Scherer in Rome at [EMAIL PROTECTED] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Catherine Hickley at [EMAIL PROTECTED] enditem ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
