Veteran politician Giulio Andreotti, 68, was given the task Monday of mending the rift between Italy`s coalition partners and forming the country`s 45th postwar government.
But political observers were skeptical that Andreotti, Italy`s wily foreign minister, would manage to overcome the divergencies between his Christian Democrats and the Socialists who refuse adamantly to have him as head of the government. The other three coalition partners are the
Republicans, Liberals and Social Democrats.
After a week of consultations, President Francesco Cossiga asked Andreotti to solve the government crisis that threatens to return Italy to the days when administrations played musical chairs every few months.
Andreotti, who was prime minister five times, was thoughtful when he came out of the presidential palace. ”I`ll do my best,” he said without his usual sarcasm, ”but I accept this mandate with some reservations.”
But he could not resist a final quip when asked how he intended to approach his task: ”By appealing to the sense of solidarity that one hopes will prevail among the coalition.”
It was precisely the lack of solidarity and bickering over pockets of power that caused the fall last week of Bettino Craxi, Italy`s longest-serving premier in 40 years.
Craxi, often associated with Italy`s economic renaissance over the last three years, is still fuming over having been forced to resign as premier.
He has vetoed Andreotti not so much for personal reasons but because Andreotti is the symbol of the automatic handover of the premiership to a man who had been designated by his party as Craxi`s successor for the last six months.
Craxi, at 52 the kingmaker of Italian politics (with 11 percent of the vote), wants to impose his own choice.
He also knows that the longer he sulks the longer the Italian legislature will be paralyzed, creating a climate of instability that might spark popular clamor for his return.
Meanwhile, the crisis threatens to become a protracted affair as the five coalition partners argue not only over who should become premier but over what should be done to confront two pending referendums.
The first plebiscite demands a ban on all nuclear power stations in Italy. The second is aimed at limiting the power of magistrates who often issue arrest warrants and start investigations that appear prompted more by political than judicial purpose.
Andreotti has been thrown into this cauldron of conflicting opinions, bringing with him a record as one of Italy`s ablest but also most
controversial politicians over the last four decades.
As foreign minister in recent years Andreotti has supported aspirations for a Palestinian homeland and maintained close ties with Arab nations, including Col. Moammar Gadhafi`s Libya.
Even if he manages to weave together a coalition government, his premiership will only last another year.
Then a general election will trigger another round of musical chairs for cabinet and premiership posts in a country where no single party has commanded an absolute majority since the days of dictator Benito Mussolini.
In Andreotti`s 43-year political career he has been asked to form a government 10 times; he succeeded 5 times. His last government lasted 11 days in 1979.
Last July, Cossiga asked Andreotti to form a new government after Craxi resigned when parliament rejected a local financing bill.
Andreotti failed, and a coalition led by Craxi, was resurrected on Aug. 1.
