Italian premier resigns after vote loss

[NoGOPZone]

Source: AP via Yahoo! News

Italian Premier Romano Prodi resigned Thursday night after his government lost a risky Senate confidence vote. The center-left government fell four votes short of the 160 needed for victory. The vote was 161-156.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080124/ap_on_re_eu/italy_politics

[mogster]

1. Oh noes! Berlusconi is coming back!

There is widespread agreement among several senior senators - even among the prime minister's opponents - that the country needs new electoral laws, he says.

Under the current system rushed in by Mr Berlusconi, smaller parties with a handful of seats hold the balance of power.

Mr Napolitano is thought to favour appointing an interim government of technocrats to force through such reforms.

But other politicians, particularly those belonging to Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, which is leading the polls, insist an election is the only way forward, he adds.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7208000.stm
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Somebody wake me up from this nightmare.

[LeftishBrit]

2. That's really bad news...

I hope they can somehow retrieve the situation - I wouldn't want Berlusconi back there!