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October 2nd, 2013 
Peter Nolan
But either way he faces humiliation – the frantic jockeying of the last few
days has shown that a significant number of his loyalists are prepared to
rebel against him and that his party has been split, perhaps irrevocably.
The rebels have been led by one of the billionaire businessman’s closest
collaborators – Angelino Alfano, the 42-year-old national secretary of the
party and Mr Berlusconi’s anointed political heir.
The tearing apart of his People of Freedom party is unprecedented and has
sparked extreme bitterness between “hawks” and “doves” – “Alfano betrays”
was the headline in today’s Il Giornale, the newspaper owned by the
Berlusconi family.
Mr Alfano was playing Brutus to Mr Berlusconi’s Caesar, Italian commentators
said, as the emperor was stabbed in the back.
Mr Berlusconi sparked the current political crisis on Saturday when he ordered
the resignation of his party’s five ministers in the government.
In the end, the resignations did not go ahead – Mr Letta rejected them late on
Tuesday.
During an hour-long address to the Senate, Mr Letta catalogued the
achievements of his government over the last five months and said it was
crucial that it be allowed to continue its programme of reforms.
The reforms are necessary to haul Italy out of its worst recession since the
Second World War, with youth unemployment now standing at more than 40 per
cent and the economy struggling to emerge from years of near-zero growth.
“Italy is running a risk that could be fatal, without remedy. Thwarting
this risk, to seize or not seize the moment, depends on the choices we will
make in this chamber. It depends on a yes or a no,” the prime minister
told the Senate, as a grim-faced, tired-looking Mr Berlusconi looked on.
Italy needed to show the world that it was capable of serious reforms and
needed stability and continuity as it prepares to assume the rotating
presidency of the EU next year, Mr Letta said.
Mr Letta needs at least 20 senators from other parties to vote for him in
order to win the confidence vote in the 315-seat upper house.
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