D’Alema says Berlusconi party split helps govt

(ANSA) – Campobasso, November 18 – Former premier Massimo D’Alema on Monday said the break-up of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right People of Freedom (PdL) party was a positive development for the fragile government. “The government…is now free of Berlusconi’s influence, and thus of the continuous tensions he sparked,” said D’Alema at a gathering of the center-left Democratic Party (PD). Over the weekend Berlusconi and his loyalists within the PdL officially broke away into their own party, Forza Italia, a revival of the original name of the three-time premier’s movement. Pro-government doves from the PdL now form the New Center Right (NCD), led by Deputy Premier Angelino Alfano, once the heir apparent to Berlusconi. While not a part of the grand-coalition government of Premier Enrico Letta, Berlusconi has exerted his influence on it since its founding in April, threatening to bring it down on several occasions, namely over his own legal entanglements. Letta, of the PD, has said he is confident his government can stand with the support of his party and those loyal to Alfano. “Now we know there is a self-sufficient majority, and that it doesn’t depend on Berlusconi. This lends stability, and strengthens the government,” added D’Alema. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED