Berlusconi under pressure to call election

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Marco Follini called yesterday for an immediate general election, increasing the pressure on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi following his rout in a regional ballot last week.

Mr Follini's comments reflect fears within part of the government that things can get only worse for them as the economy fails to ignite, and that an election one year ahead of schedule might save them from a total meltdown.

"I think it would be wise to save the country from a year of election campaign which risks being poisonous and demagogical," Mr Follini, the leader of the centrist Union of Christian Democrats (UDC), told Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview.