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Berlusconi Eyes 3rd Term as Prime Minister

Posted Jan 25, 08 9:52 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – Italy's president will begin crisis talks tonight with top politicians after last night's resignation of PM Romano Prodi. While a technocrat will probably take the helm of the country for a few months, Silvio Berlusconi is waiting in the wings, and the richest man in Italy has his sights set on a third term as prime minister. With the center-right riding high in the polls, his supporters are predicting a return to power within months, reports Bloomberg.

The president, Giorgio Napolitano, wants an interim coalition to push through election law reform to prevent the splintered situation that led to Prodi's ungovernable nine-party coalition. While right-wing papers rejoiced at the PM's defeat, the left-leaning La Repubblica regretted the "strange and unjust destiny for a politician who has twice defeated Berlusconi" and "twice cleaned up the public accounts."
Sources:: Bloomberg, Financial Times (UK), AFP

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In this photo released by the Italian presidency Press Office, Italian premier Romano Prodi, right, followed by government undersecretary Enrico Letta, on his way in the Quirinale presidential palace...   (Associated Press)
Italian opposition senators celebrate with champagne after a confidence vote in the Senate, in Rome, Thursday Jan. 24, 2008. Embattled Italian Premier Romano Prodi lost a Senate confidence vote Thursday...   (Associated Press)
Italian former premier Silvio Berlusconi gestures at a press conference under a sign similiar to a political symbol saying "People of Freedom" in Rome, Monday Nov. 19, 2007. Berlusconi made a surprise...   (Associated Press)
Silvio Berlusconi shows some files as he addresses the court in Milan, Italy, in this June 17, 2003 file photo. Italy's highest court on Friday, Oct. 26, 2007 upheld the acquittal of former Premier Silvio...   (Associated Press)
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Italy • Silvio Berlusconi • Romano Prodi • Giorgio Napolitano • electoral reform


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