Saturday's paper had a story saying that the Refoundation CP had been
brought into line by enormous pressure and that the cuts would be going
ahead.
Sid Shniad>
>
> Italy's 55th post-war government was brought down last week when
> the ruling Socialist Party, in power for less than 17 months, was
> unable to push through cuts to pensions and welfare which it
> argued were critical for Italy to meet the necessary requirements
> for it to adopt the common European currency. Prodi s government,
> like those across Europe, has been escalating the anti-social
> offensive of the European monopolies. This development is a
> setback for the monopolies of Europe who are hoping to establish
> the European Union with its common currency by the year 1999.
> Prodi's resignation came after a week of parliamentary
> debate over his 1998 budget, which sought to trim pensions by
> $3.6 billion Cdn. Prodi's coalition fell short of a majority in
> the Chamber of Deputies, so it had to rely on gaining the support
> of the Refoundation Communist Party's votes, which won eight per
> cent of the vote in the 1996 election. The RCP did not vote with
> the government on this issue.
> Italian President Scalfaro asked Prodi to stay on as
> caretaker while he consults with political leaders on forming a
> new government. While it is still possible that a new government
> can be formed without another election, Prodi's deputy premier,
> Walter Veltroni told reporters that he did not see any way out
> other than another election, the third in six years.
>
> TML DAILY, 10/97
>
>
> Shawgi Tell
> Graduate School of Education
> University at Buffalo
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
