Berlusconi, Bossi 'want Fini out'
Ouster of House Speaker urged after attack on premier
07 September, 12:10
(ANSA) - Rome, September 7 - Premier Silvio Berlusconi and
key ally Umberto Bossi of the Northern League said Tuesday they
would seek the ouster of House Speaker Gianfranco Fini after his
fierce attack on the premier and his People of Freedom (PdL)
party Sunday.In a statement released early Tuesday after a PdL and League summit, the two leaders accused Fini of having failed to remain above the political fray and instead "playing a hostile role against the government, wholly incompatible with the impartial status of the Speaker".
The pair called Fini's assault on the PdL and Berlusconi "unacceptable".
They said they would seek a meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to urge the president to use his institutional authority to persuade Fini to step down.
The move surprised many political analysts who thought Berlusconi would wait and see how Fini, who was ousted from the PdL in July and set up his own Future and Freedom (FLI) groups, would act on a revamped five-point government programme set for a confidence vote in mid-September.
In his Sunday speech, Fini had already said the FLI would vote for the programme, although it would want to examine how it would be applied. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini tried to explain the apparent contradiction Tuesday by saying that, if the FLI backtracked on its pledge, only then would Fini have finally proven his "incompatibility" with his role as Speaker.
FLI House leader Italo Bocchino reacted sharply by saying the request for Fini to resign was against the Italian Constitution and was a "politically unacceptable" move.
The centre-left opposition Democratic Party claimed that the PdL and the League were "ignorant" of institutional norms since the president could not sack the Speaker, nor even persuade him to resign.
Some media analysts saw Berlusconi and Bossi's move as the start of political jousting ahead of early elections either later this year or early next year.
They said the premier's prime concern was to shift the responsibility for bringing the government down onto Fini.
According to current polls, if there were an election now the PdL and League would be returned with a slimmer majority.
photo: from left, Fini, Berlusconi, Bossi
