Italian political leaders began a new round of talks on Friday, after leftist Pier Luigi Bersani failed to form a government following inconclusive elections in the eurozone's third-largest economy.
Bersani's centre-left coalition secured the most votes in the February 24-25 elections, winning a majority in the lower house of parliament but not in the upper house -- with Berlusconi's centre-right a very close second. Bersani has ruled out a coalition government with his arch-rival Berlusconi, a scandal-tainted 76-year-old billionaire tycoon who has served as prime minister three times in a tumultuous political career spanning two decades.
Analysts said a variety of scenarios were possible. One option is that Napolitano will nominate a prime minister candidate from outside the party political sphere -- an arrangement similar to the one that brought Mario Monti to power in 2011. Another possibility is that Napolitano could try to push through some kind of right-left coalition.
Meanwhile a poll released by the SWG institute on Friday showed that, should Italy return to the ballots, voters right across the political spectrum would support Florence mayor and centre-left star Matteo Renzi for premier.
Renzi lost a bid to become Democratic Party leader last year, but many within the party say the centre-left may have done much better at the elections under his leadership.
Any new government would need to win confidence votes in both houses of parliament. Most analysts predict that Italy will be forced to hold new elections within months at the earliest, or one or two years at the latest, since any government is unlikely to be stable with the current three-way split of parliamentary forces.
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© France 24
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