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The fear of political instability in Italy has returned after the elections, in which no single party or coalition clearly prevailed. Mr Bersani's centre-left coalition narrowly won the most votes in the lower house of Parliament, but there is a three-way tie in the upper house Senate that would make governing virtually impossible.
The stalemate—which occurred in part because of a huge protest vote by Italians who flocked to the anti-establishment party of former comedian Beppe Grillo—has been interpreted by many as a clear sign that European leaders' policy approach to stemming the eurozone's debt crisis is backfiring among the populace. Italy's vote was a "thermometer" of long-simmering tensions, Mr Bersani said in his speech.
Mr Bersani ruled out any alliance with Silvio Berlusconi, long-time leader of the conservative People of Freedom party, saying such an alliance was "not practicable". He reiterated, however, that some form of dialogue with Mr Grillo's Five-Star Movement might be possible.
In particular, Mr Bersani signalled that he was bent on trying to form a government to address a core set of issues, including changing a new property tax; helping Italians adversely affected by new pension rules; making it easier for children of immigrants born in Italy to become citizens; halving the number of parliamentarians and slashing their pay; and pursuing the kind of electoral reform that he said his Democratic Party had long desired.