Bersani rejects coalition with center-right

The Italian center-left Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani said in an interview for the newspaper La Repubblica that he would not form a coalition government with Berlusconi’s center-right, after the inconclusive elections held last weekend.

Bersani insisted that there would be no grand coalition with the center-right and confirmed that he would stand as a candidate for the post of Prime Minister. He also announced his intention to present a seven- or eight-point agenda at his meeting with President Giorgio Napolitano.

None of the biggest Italian parties has won a clear majority, as the center-left secured the majority in the Lower House, and not in the Senate. On the other hand the Five Star movement led by the ex-comedian Beppe Grillo, which secured 26 percent of lower house votes, declared that it might offer limited backing to a minority government.