ITALY: Romano Prodi and his government have sworn in and met Silvio Berlusconi for the mandate handover before the first cabinet meeting

Record ID: 858828

  • Title: ITALY: Romano Prodi and his government have sworn in and met Silvio Berlusconi for the mandate handover before the first cabinet meeting
  • Date: 18th May 2006
  • Summary: HANDOVER CEREMONY HALL CLOSE UP OF BELL THAT PRIME MINISTER RINGS TO OPEN HIS CABINET MEETINGS FORMER PRIME MINISTER SILVIO BERLUSCONI AND NEWLY DESIGNATED PRIME MINISTER ROMANO PRODI ENTERING THE HANDOVER CEREMONY HALL FORMER PRIME MINISTER SILVIO BERLUSCONI SHOWING HOW TO RING THE BELL TO NEWLY DESIGNATED PRIME MINISTER ROMANO PRODI WHILE HANDING IT TO HIM FORMER PRIME MINISTER SILVIO BERLUSCONI AND NEWLY DESIGNATED PRIME MINISTER ROMANO PRODI SHAKING HANDS GOVERNMENT HOUSE EMPLOYEES FORMER PRIME MINISTER SILVIO BERLUSCONI GREETING AND MAKING MOVE TO LEAVE TOWARDS THE PRIME MINISTER OFFICE, THEN HEADING FOR THE EXIT
  • Embargoed: 2nd June 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • City:
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE9CNYAZVBLDWMUE00NNLUM5NV
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Italy's Romano Prodi formed a new government on Wednesday (May 17) and vowed to soothe political tensions in a country split in two by the closest election in its post-war history.
    The 66-year old former European Commission chief and his ministers gathered at the Presidential palace for the traditional swearing-in ceremony conducted by Italy's new President Giorgio Napolitano.
    Prodi, was given the mandate to govern on Tuesday and presented his cabinet list to Napolitano after protracted negotiations with his centre-left coalition partners over the distribution of portfolios.
    The centre-left coalition won a razor-thin victory in the April 9-10 ballot over the centre-right bloc led by Silvio Berlusconi, who governed for a record five years and is still contesting the result of the vote.
    Ten years to the day since he began his first stint as prime minister, Prodi named former European Central Bank board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa as economy minister, responsible for tackling Italy's flagging growth and debt mountain.
    Massimo D'Alema, who comes from the biggest party in Prodi's bloc, was given the Foreign Ministry and will share the role of deputy prime minister with Daisy Party leader Francesco Rutelli.
    Giuliano Amato, a former prime minister, will head the Interior Ministry. Six women, fewer than promised by Prodi, were also among the 26 members of the new government.
    Prodi called his cabinet "a team, not just a group of individuals" even though he spent most of the night putting the final touches to the list, pressured by allies who have squabbled over top jobs for weeks.
    The infighting laid bare the problems that Prodi will likely face as he governs with a very slim parliamentary majority stretching from Roman Catholic moderates to communists.
    After the swearing in, Prodi met with former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for the traditional handover of the bell, signifying the passing of duties from the former to the new Prime Minister.
    Prodi's path to power since the election has been painfully slow, delayed by the need to choose a new head of state as the former president's mandate expired just after the election.
    He must still win a confidence vote in the Senate, probably on Friday, and another in the lower house early next week, before fully taking charge.
    Many commentators wonder how long he can last. His first spell in government ended after two years in 1998 when the communists withdrew their support.
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