Sunday, September 29th 2013
Not in coalition for much longer it seems. Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano (L) and Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
AFP
NEONLINE
The ministers from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right People of Freedom (PdL) party are to “resign” from the Italian government, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said on Saturday.
The announcement came after Berlusconi said in a statement that Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s request for a parliamentary confidence vote expected to be called next week was unacceptable, according to ANSA news agency.
Berlusconi also blamed the Letta government for passing a hike in value-added tax (VAT) in order to compensate for lost revenue from scrapping a controversial first home tax over the summer.
After a party meeting last week, Berlusconi’s MPs threatened to resign en masse if the Senate on Friday votes to eject their leader from the upper house.
According to a 2012 anti-corruption law, Berlusconi should be expelled from parliament after Italy’s supreme court upheld his tax fraud conviction last month.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has warned against new elections while the country is mired in recession, saying they could reignite worries about economic stability.
