An uneasy coalition emerged after Italy’s general election in February which saw Beppe Grillo’s 5 Star Party poll 25.5% (108 seats) in the House of Deputies, making it the largest party in parliament, and 23.8% (54 seats) in the Senate. The 5 Star Party declined to enter into government in any coalition and fell short of the seats needed for it to form a government on its own.
Ultimately, at the insistence of Italy’s President, a grand coalition emerged involving members of the outgoing technocrat government under Mario Monti (Civic Choice), Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom Party (right of centre) and under the leadership of Enrico Letta (Democratic Party; Centre left). The government now faces a vote of confidence which, if lost, could plunge Italy into a deep crisis.
At the heart of the affair is leader of the People of Freedom Party, former Prime Minister and billionaire businessman, Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi has been embroiled in a number of criminal trials stretching back more than 20 years and involving accusations ranging from paying for sex with an underage prostitute, to bribery of a judge, false accounting and embezzlement. Berlusconi has always maintained his innocence and suggested that the trials are a left-wing vendetta against him. He was finally convicted over tax fraud and sentenced to four years in prison which, because of his age, was commuted to one year and is likely to be served either under house arrest or as community service. As a consequence of the conviction, the Senate is due to vote on whether to exclude him since the conviction bars him from holding public office.
Last week, Berlusconi orchestrated a row over a sales tax and withdrew his party’s support for the coalition. However, there is some doubt as to whether he can command the loyalty of his party and a split has opened giving Letta the prospect of surviving the confidence motion. Commentators are united in their view that the last thing Italy needs at the moment is a fresh general election.