Politique
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Italy's center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, so far unable to cobble together a coalition to give him control of the upper house of parliament, said this week he is willing to step aside as the leader of his party if he becomes an "obstacle," possibly opening the door to a young and dynamic center-left figure Matteo Renzi.
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To be sure, 61-year-old Bersani is still focused on finding a way to pull together a ruling coalition.
He continues to reject overtures from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to form a "grand coalition," and is waiting on recommendations from the 10-person "wise men" committee called by President Giorgio Napolitano in order to find a way out of the crisis.
But Bersani, who earned a majority in the lower house but not in the Senate in February's national vote, opened the door at least a little to plan that would involve him stepping down as the leader of his coalition.
"If I am an obstacle, then yes, I would step aside because Italy must come first," Bersani said in a press conference announcing he was formally giving up on the March 25 mandate Napolitano gave him to try to form a new government.
At least some Italian media interpreted the remarks as an indication he could step down to make room for Renzi.
Renzi, the charismatic 38-year-old mayor of Florence, ran against Bersani for the leadership of the center-left coalition last year but was defeated. But with those supporting Bersani reportedly at least a dozen years older, on average, than those backing Renzi, Renzi is generally seen as the future of the center-left.
"Renzi is part of a new generation of Italians and Italian politicians and is a clear departure from the traditional political figures of the last 20 years," said author Giovanni Marco Bartelli, who has followed Renzi's career.
"Eventually, someone from Renzi's generation will lead all the main parties, and when it happens for (Bersani's party) it will be a very significant development."
There is a thought that Renzi will have more success than Bersani at forming a government with the current parliament: his personal style is likely to help be draw away some followers of comedian and activist Beppe Grillo, whose allies form one of the three blocks in the Senate, along with Bersani and Berlusconi.
It is also possible that Grillo would be less averse to cooperating with a possible Renzi government, given that they both share a desire to cut back on government salaries and expenses and to reduce government backing to political parties.
Renzi is also less opposed to discussing a possible deal with Berlusconi, giving him another option forming a coalition.
It is still more likely that Bersani will continue working toward forming a government himself, and that if he fails the most likely outcome is still likely to be some kind of technocrat or caretaker government that will pass electoral reforms ahead of a new round of elections later in the year.
But even then, the emergence of Renzi as a national figure would likely only be slowed: already, he's considered the odds-on favorite to win the center-left nomination next time the coalition holds a primary.
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