ROME, March 8 (UPI) -- Italy urgently requires a new government due to its economic crisis, President Giorgio Napolitano said Friday.
"There are urgent economic problems" that "will not wait," Napolitano said. "We have always managed to overcome the most acute moments of crisis and risks of institutional clashes, and we must succeed this time."
He is expected to hand the mandate to center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani to form a new government. Bersani has framed an eight-point platform for a "government of change," despite the strong representation in the House and Senate of an opposition party led by comedian Beppe Grillo, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Friday.
If Bersani's government-formation bid fails, Napolitano could favor a technocrat government to enact essential reforms while changing election laws that prevent a clear win by any party and lead to ineffective political coalitions in the legislatures, ANSA added.
