(By Denis Greenan).
Premier Matteo Renzi on Tuesday
shored up an electoral and Constitutional reform pact with
ex-premier and conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi despite
continued dissent from a minority faction in his Democratic
Party (PD).
Renzi's pact with Berlusconi for reforms to overhaul
Italy's slow-moving, costly political apparatus was described as
"solid" by both sides after the pair met for talks late on
Monday.
Renzi won the agreement of ex-premier Berlusconi for the
reforms at a meeting in January, a month before he toppled
Enrico Letta, his colleague in the centre-left Democratic Party
(PD), to become Italy's youngest-ever premier at 39.
But in recent weeks there has been speculation that
Berlusconi, the leader of the opposition centre-right Forza
Italia (FI) party, could break the agreement.
Earlier this month the 77-year-old media magnate said parts
of the government's bill to change the Constitution to transform
the Senate into a leaner assembly of local-government
representatives with minimal lawmaking powers were
"unacceptable".
FI has also been grumbling about the fact that a bill for a
new election system, which was also the result of an agreement
between Renzi and Berlusconi, has not made progress in the
Senate after clearing the Lower House.
But Berlusconi said that "the pact is solid"
during a call to an FI fund-raising event after his meeting of
over two hours with Renzi Monday.
He added that "there is an excellent personal relationship"
between the men.
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