Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday night refused to concede he had been defeated in Italy’s general election and called for a re-examination of tens of thousands of votes that he said could alter the outcome.
After a day of sullen silence in which official results gave a slender victory to the centre-left in both houses of Parliament, Italy’s billionaire prime minister said Italy should consider forming a German-style cross-party ”grand alliance”. But in remarks to a press conference in Rome, an irritated Berlusconi rounded on the opposition leader, Romano Prodi, saying he had been ”absolutely irresponsible” to claim victory earlier in the day and warned he would ”pay the consequences” for what he had done.
”No one can say now he has won,” said Berlusconi.
His attack on the opposition leader did not bode well for a smooth transition of power and brought a furious response from Prodi. He said Berlusconi’s refusal to concede was ”out of line”.
”He is the premier. The interior minister belongs to his government, he wanted the electoral law,” Prodi said. ”Now it doesn’t seem to me the time for complaints because it is really out of line.”
Flanked by the leaders of the other parties in his rightwing House of Freedoms, Berlusconi appeared to suggest that, even if the declared figures were accurate, the opposition would not have a moral right to form the next government because the country was so evenly split. At one point, he used the term ”civil war” to describe Italy’s future if an all-encompassing solution was not found. But one of his allies, Roberto Maroni of the Northern League, immediately distanced himself from the prime minister’s assertion. ”If these results are confirmed, then the centre-left will have not only a right, but a duty, to govern,” he told the press conference.
Berlusconi questioned the announced result in both houses of Parliament. In the lower house, the chamber of deputies, the right lost by just 28 000 votes. The interior ministry said there were 43 028 spoiled ballots that were disputed. The prime minister said he wanted them reviewed.
He told the press conference that, at the last election in 2001, which his alliance won by a large margin, 36 000 votes had been reallocated by the court that supervises the ballot after the ministry declared the results.
In the Senate, the upper house, a two-seat majority turned on the ballots cast by Italians living abroad, who were voting for the first time because of a change in the law introduced by Berlusconi’s government. He said there had been ”many irregularities” in the vote.
”We believe that there is no one who can say today, as things stand, he is the winner,” Berlusconi said. The figures showed ”many, many, many murky aspects. I would say too many,” he added.
His remarks amplified the uncertainty of a situation which remained far from clear. Prodi said the results would allow him to govern for a full five-year term and sought to dispel fears that his broad coalition would be too weak to carry through bold reforms.
He said his government would be for all Italians, ”even those who didn’t vote for us”. He added: ”Today we turn a page. We leave behind the sourness of a long and difficult electoral campaign. We need to start immediately to repair the splits that were produced in the country.”
The former European Commission president said his government would put Europe at the centre of its policies. He also promised ”constructive relations with the United States”. His successor in Brussels, Jose Manuel Barroso, congratulated him on the outcome.
But, even disregarding Berlusconi’s objections, it could be up to two months before a new Italian government is sworn in. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi’s mandate expires next month. It is the president, as head of state, who names the new prime minister.
President Ciampi, who spoke to Prodi on Tuesday by telephone, is understood to be reluctant to choose a new leader for the government before the end of his term. But the election of his successor is not due until mid-May at the earliest and could be a protracted affair in view of the likely split in Parliament.
The new government
The formation of a new Italian government is a leisurely business that gives ample time for mischief-making. In this case, matters are complicated by the fact the man who has to name the new prime minister, the head of state, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, is due to step down at the end of his seven-year term next month.
He is apparently reluctant to choose a new leader for the government before the end of his mandate. But unless he can be persuaded to change his mind, Silvio Berlusconi will remain in power for up to two months, and Italy’s political timetable over the next few months will look like this:
- April 28 — new Parliament convenes;
- April 29 — speakers elected for both houses of Parliament; and
- May 12-13 — election of the new head of state by the members of the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and regional representatives.
Finding an acceptable candidate could prove difficult in an evenly divided legislature, especially since his first task will be to call in party leaders and others for consultations on the leadership of the next government.
Other appointments clouding the horizon include:
- May 28 — local elections in some of Italy’s biggest cities, including Rome and Milan, and on Sicily;
- June (second half): Referendum on constitutional reform. The centre-left has vowed to campaign against this intensely controversial measure that would transform Italy into a federal state, in line with the demands of the Northern League. – Guardian Unlimited Â