By dumping ally, Berlusconi scores 'own goal'

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks to have scored an 'own goal', emerging weakened by his tempestuous split from longtime ally Gianfranco Fini, analysts said yesterday, no longer ruling out early elections.

"The numbers seem to argue for Fini and against Berlusconi," said Angelo Panebianco of the leading Italian daily Corriere della Sera after 33 lawmakers deserted the prime minister to support Fini, the speaker of Parliament, last Friday.

The drama capped months of feuding between the billionaire prime minister and the former neo-fascist, who had been allies since the media tycoon entered politics in 1994.

On the strength of an emphatic election win in 2008, Berlusconi and Fini's centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party, in coalition with the anti-immigration Northern League, enjoyed an unassailable majority in parliament.

Now, without the 33 deputies loyal to Fini, Berlusconi is left with much less room to manoeuvre and will have to "navigate through a parliament strewn with obstacles," Panebianco wrote.

Berlusconi, already plummeting in opinion polls, has now "scored an own goal", political scientist Giacomo Marramao said.

He praised Fini, 58, for standing firm and presenting himself as the guarantor of Italy's institutions and the rule of law when several high-ranking members of Berlusconi's government are embroiled in scandal.

Marramao, who teaches political philosophy at the University of Florence, said hunger was growing among the electorate, including on the right, for an end to "populist excesses".

"For the first time, Berlusconi has shown his weakness. He is very attractive when he wins, but when he comes under criticism he has a lot of trouble controlling the situation," Marramao told AFP.

Several media reports say the ebullient Berlusconi, 73, decided on his own to go on the offensive against his recalcitrant ally, against the advice of his closest aides.