Make solid deal or elections soon
Forza Italia party leader Silvio Berlusconi shows the press his speech after meeting Italian President Sergio Mattarella, in Rome, Thursday. -BBC
Italy's president gave party leaders a few more days to try to forge a solid, durable governing coalition but served notice they must convince him soon they have found a formula for a new majority in Parliament or else he'll call early elections.
President Sergio Mattarella made clear that only a government solid enough to win the required confidence vote in Parliament would be considered an acceptable way out of the knotty, weeks-long political crisis. Otherwise, said Mattarella, "the path is that of elections."
Fast-rising nationalist leader Matteo Salvini yanked support for the governing 14-month-old populist coalition in a bid to come to power himself in fresh elections. Mattarella, who is head of state, said he'll start a fresh round of talks with party leaders on Tuesday so he can "reach my conclusions and take the necessary decisions."
"Political and economic uncertainties, on an international level, require it," he said, also citing the European Union's new leadership taking the helm this fall. Mattarella didn't say which parties had told him they were trying to reach a coalition deal.
But Italian news reports said the negotiations involved arch-rivals: the opposition Democrats and the 5-Star Movement, which was the main partner in the now-caretaker government.
