“I want clarity. Resignations are not given as rumors: everyone must express themselves clearly. Anyone who wants to come in my place must say so explicitly and must explain why. There have been so many who have tried to drive me out of here… But I am serene. Indeed, Zen”. The prime minister, Enrico Letta, said this during a press conference when he presented “Impegno Italia”, the new coalition program for relaunching government action. The objective is to prolong the horizon of the current Executive at least until the end of the Italian semester of presidency of the European Union (July-December 2014).
“I consider myself a man of institutions – added the Premier -. My experience here stems from a dramatic situation, that of last April. My personal perspectives have nothing to do with it. I intend to assume my responsibilities."
This morning Letta's meeting with the secretary of the Pd Matteo Renzi it was not enough to mend the rift within the party and as the hours passed, the prospect of a new government led by the mayor of Florence became more and more concrete. “Letta defeated himself, the Democratic Party is all with Renzi,” Angelino Alfano, leader of the center-right ruling New Party, ruled today. The final showdown, in any case, will come tomorrow with the leadership of the Democratic Party.
“The duration of Impegno Italia is linked to the completion of the reforms: electoral law, reform of the Senate and of Title V of the Constitution. Once this process has been completed, which requires a large amount of time, I believe that this phase can be completed. I claim some steps forward: the beginning of the discussion on the electoral law and the abolition of public funding for parties. I offer this coalition pact to the citizens and to the Parliament”.
