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16 September 2013

Reuters: New poll could curb Berlusconi's temptation to sink government


An opinion poll on Monday showed Silvio Berlusconi's party falling behind its centre-left rivals and could undermine the media tycoon's temptation to bring down Italy's shaky coalition government over his tax fraud conviction.

Allies of Berlusconi, 76, have been threatening for weeks to bring down the left-right coalition of premier Enrico Letta if a Senate committee meeting this week votes to bar him from parliament. In recent days, political sources have suggested the centre-right leader is backing away from an immediate government crisis and elections for fear this could misfire.

A poll in La Repubblica newspaper by the Demos organisation suggested this fear could be well-founded, showing Italians split three ways as they were in an inconclusive election last February which led to a damaging two-month impasse before President Giorgio Napolitano forced the parties into a cross-party coalition of the old rivals.

The poll showed the centre-left PD on 28.5 per cent, just ahead of Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) on 26.2 per cent. This is a contrast to polls before Berlusconi started his campaign against the conviction, which had the PDL well ahead.

The Demos poll showed that almost 50 percent of those surveyed had a positive view of the Letta government, which has struggled to pass vital economic reforms because of constant squabbling between the coalition members - exacerbated by the row over Berlusconi's conviction. This suggests they would look dimly on anybody forcing a crisis. 

Full article



© Reuters


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