EU concerned over stalemate after inconclusive Italian polls

BERLIN: European politicians have expressed concern over the political stalemate in Italy after the inconclusive general election results and appealed to the main parties not to allow the debt-laden nation to slide into a period of political instability.


They also voiced fears that Italy may be heading towards a Greek-style debt crisis in the absence of a strong government in Rome and urged the political forces to honour the country's commitments to reduce debt and fiscal deficit.

European Parliament president Martin Schulz warned against the risks of the recession-hit nation slipping into an "incalculable and ungovernable situation" and called upon the main parties to break the political impasse by dealing with pragmatism.

Italy's European Union partners expect the centre-right and centre-left blocs, which won most seats in parliament, as well as the anti-austerity 'Five Star Movement' and the centrist bloc of current Prime Minister Mario Monti to be prepared to make compromises and form a stable government, "before the country slips into an incalculable and ungovernable situation," Schulz said in a TV interview.

Schulz also cautioned EU to take seriously the Italian voters' "anguish and hopelessness expressed through their "protest votes." The outcome of the two-day election "is a clear warning to Europe and its political leaders and the EU must take this warning seriously," he said.

Provisional results of the election on Sunday and Monday showed that the centre-left bloc led by Pier Luigi Bersani won the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, by securing 340 seats (29.5 per cent) but lost the upper house, the Senate to former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right bloc. A majority in both houses is needed to pass legislations.

The centre-right bloc established a narrow lead in the Senate by securing 116 seats (30.7 per cent) compared to 113 seats won by the centre-left bloc.

Anti-austerity 'Five Star Movement' led by Beppe Grillo emerged as the third political force in Italy by winning 108 seats in the lower house and 54 seats in the Senate while Monti's centrist bloc finished fourth with 45 seats (10.5 per cent) in the lower house and 18 seats (9.1 per cent) in the Senate.