Not advocating grand coalition -Minniti (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, February 16 - Interior Minister Marco Minniti on Friday denied he was in favour of considering the option of a grand coalition government. Comments made by Minniti on Thursday that were interpreted as an opening for a coalition executive featuring the Democratic Party (PD) and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) rocked the centre-left group. PD leader and ex-premier Matteo Renzi has repeatedly ruled out the hypothesis of a grand coalition after the March 4 general election. "Yesterday I gave a simple answer to a question," Minniti said on the fringes of a visit to Rome's Mosque.
    "They asked if I would be interior minister in a government of national unity, which is different to a grand-coalition government.
    "And I said yes, as long as my party was part of it, adding that it would be an acknowledgement of my work, but that I didn't consider it very probable and it would be in the hands of the president anyway".