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On Thursday 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate, causing the downfall of his own government. The vote, held between 3pm and 9pm (CET), was lost with 161 to 156 votes. The debate was heated, and during its course the UDEUR party Senator Stefano Cusumano, after having broken ranks, fainted. The UDEUR, a part of Prodi's Olive Tree coalition, had pulled their support for the Prime Minister after the media reported an extensive corruption investigation involving Justice Minister, and UDEUR leader, Clemente Mastella, his wife (who is an UDEUR politician in Campania) and about 30 of his party's high-rankers, prompting Mastella's resignation. Cusumano vowed to vote in favour of Prodi, and was subjected to the abuse of his colleagues, both verbal and physical, taking the spit of a former party colleague calling him a traitor and much more.
Prodi had already won a similar vote in the lower house of the Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. Yet a win in the upper house – or Senate – seemed unlikely, and President Giorgio Napolitano allegedly warned against going through with the vote. The next step, left to Napolitano, will be either to appoint a caretaker government, or to call a quick election. It is expected that such an election would be won by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his centre-right party Forza Italia.
Prodi had been in office for 20 months, after winning the elections of April 2006. In February 2007, the Prime Minister handed in his resignation, only to be asked to remain by the President, and winning a vote of confidence in the Parliament.
References
- ^ "Prodi loses crucial Senate vote". BBC. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- Template:It icon "Prodi sconfitto in Senato: cade il governo, Il premier al Quirinale per le dimissioni". Corriere della Sera. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ Template:It icon "Cusumano si dissocia: voto sì. È bagarre". Corriere della Sera. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- ^ Ian Fisher (2008-01-24). "Italy Backs Its Coalition but Only Just for Now". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- "Prodi's fragile bloc struggles on". BBC. 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2008-01-24.