Berlusconi hints at alliance talks with centre-left

Silvio Berlusconi, ex-prime minister and leader of the center-right coalition, on Tuesday hinted at willingness to negotiate an alliance with the center-left coalition after Italy's parliamentary election turned into a rare political deadlock. "Italy deserves to be governed... Now we have to take time to reflect," Berlusconi said in a local TV program when asked about the possibility of making an agreement with the center-left. The center-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani narrowly won the election in the lower house in order to be assigned to form a new government, according to the count of all domestic votes by the interior ministry. But Bersani did not obtain a majority of seats in the Senate, leaving him the awkward option of allying with either Berlusconi or Five Star Movement's Beppe Grillo if forming a government. In the Senate, the projected number of seats is 113 for Bersani, 116 for Berlusconi, 54 for Grillo and only 18 for outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti. Any party or coalition needs 158 seats in the 315-strong Senate for a majority. The center-left's ideal option would be allying with pro-reform Monti's centrist party if it could have won more seats. Berlusconi also declared "no agreement with Monti" via his Twitter account, without mentioning the obvious fact that an alliance with Monti could go nowhere due to lack of enough seats in the Parliament. Italy's government always needs the support of both the lower house and the Senate to govern, which have equal law-making powers. Apparently the center-left could be desperate enough to force itself into alliance negotiations with its rival center-right. Democratic Party's deputy secretary Enrico Letta said late on Monday that his party would prefer not to have a second election. Bersani was also quoted as saying that Italy was faced with a delicate situation and that his coalition would manage the responsibilities that "these elections have given us in the interests of Italy." Global markets have been severely shaken by the prospect of Italy's political stalemate that could undermine the stability of the whole eurozone.