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Prodi demands concession, apology from Berlusconi (AP) Updated: 2006-04-15 22:06
ROME -- Center-left leader Romano Prodi on Saturday demanded anew that
Premier Silvio Berlusconi concede defeat in Italy's tight election and apologize
for claiming there had been fraud in the voting.
"He must acknowledge how
things went and, I believe, apologize as well after what he said about fraud,"
Prodi told reporters Saturday morning, speaking from Bologna, where he lives.
Final results are yet to be released as electoral officials examine contested
ballots.
Italy's opposition
leader Romano Prodi (C) makes a victory toast with (L-R) politician Arturo
Parisi, Democrats of the Left (DS) party leader Piero Fassino, and
Margherita party leader Francesco Rutelli during a rally by his
centre-left coalition in central Rome April 11, 2006.
[Reuters] | Berlusconi said earlier this week that there had been fraud in
the elections, but quickly backed away from his comments.
The
conservative premier made no public comment Saturday, after describing himself
late Friday as a "fighter" and an "optimist." A letter from him published in
Italy's main daily, Corriere della Sera, indicated he was digging in, for now.
"At least on the basis of the popular vote, there's no winner and no
loser," Berlusconi wrote in the letter published Saturday. Hours earlier, the
premier had said he still had hope he would be declared the winner, as long as
the count of contested ballots continued.
But the count was certain to
confirm Prodi's narrow victory, after electoral officials sharply reduced the
number of contested ballots.
The official result would formally end days
of political stalemate following the elections on Sunday and Monday. Prodi's
center-left won a razor-thin majority in both houses of parliament, but
Berlusconi alleged irregularities and demanded thorough checks. Other
possibilities for questioning the election outcome remain _ questions over
blank, null or otherwise irregular ballots must be taken up by parliamentary
commissions set up by the new parliament. That but could take weeks to play out
should Berlusconi stay his defiant course.
On Friday, the Interior
Ministry drastically reduced the number of contested ballots from 80,000 down to
5,200, dashing Berlusconi's hopes of retaining power that way. The new figures
were not enough for the premier's conservatives to reverse the electoral result,
even with a gap as narrow as the one dividing the two coalitions.
The
ministry said the confusion was caused by officials including null or blank
ballots by mistake.
Once checks on the contested ballots are completed,
a top Italian court, the Court of Cassation, certifies the election result. It
was not clear when the court's confirmation would come. Court officials did not
answer their phones Saturday afternoon, and with Monday a national holiday in
Italy, it might be at least Tuesday before any announcement is made.
In
his letter published Saturday, Berlusconi also renewed an appeal he made to the
opposition to create a coalition government, saying "a partial agreement,
limited in time and aimed at dealing with the country's institutional, economic
and international commitments should not be ruled out in principle."
He
raised the possibility of a "grand coalition" earlier this week, but Prodi and
other center-left leaders quickly rejected the proposal. Prodi would not need
Berlusconi's party to form a government, even if his majority of elected
senators in the upper house of parliament is a mere two.
Even
center-right politicians have expressed skepticism over Berlusconi's stance,
with some saying they opposed any agreement with the center-left and others
urging him to concede defeat.
"It seems to me that the idea of not
recognizing the result is losing strength by the hour," said Franco Pavoncello,
a political science professor at John Cabot University.
But the premier,
Pavoncello said, was looking ahead.
"Berlusconi is trying to cut a
political role for himself and his center-right coalition for after the
election," he said.
Even once the results are confirmed, it could still
be weeks before Prodi takes office.
It is up the president to give him a
mandate to form a government. However, the president's term ends in mid-May, and
the current president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, has said he would leave the
decision up to his successor. Parliament has until May 13 to elect a new
president.
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