(Ansa)

The coming together of the Democratic Party and Mario Monti is proceeding at a "stop-and-go" pace. Pier Luigi Bersani confirmed he is up for an alliance with Monti. The Prime Minister responded positively but with one condition: «If Bersani is interested, as stated, in collaborating with the political forces I represent, he has to make choices within his own coalition». In replying Bersani made it clear that: «My coalition is mine and no one can touch it. With that understanding I am ready to talk».

Between the two lies the smaller party led by Nichi Vendola, leader of Sinistra Ecologia e Libertà, a left-wing force allied to the PD, which proposes a wealth tax on financial assets and defines the current lack of job security a «social crime». Their coalition according to forecasts lies between 32.9-37%, whereas the percentage attributed to Sel is quite small, about 4 per cent.
Monti attacked Vendola calling him a "conservative": Vendola, along with the CGIL, the left wing trade union associated with the PD, are opponents of the reforms that the country needs, Monti said. Vendola's attitude towards the Prime Minister is equally hostile: Monti's proposals and the center-left, he said, «have nothing in common».
Opinion polls say, however, that if the PD / Sel coalition is to govern, it will most likely have to ally itself to Monti. Getting more votes is not enough to secure a majority in the Senate, the upper house of Parliament.

The system allocates seats on a regional basis and at least two major regions, Lombardy and Sicily, could end up in the hands of Silvio Berlusconi's center-right. At this stage of the election campaign Vendola and Monti have categorically ruled out the possibility of them being together in the same coalition after 24 and 25 February. A scenario that their supporters would not accept.
After the vote, however, things could change. Firstly Vendola is committed to being a responsible ally of Bersani: «I am the living proof of a stable government, the proof being eight years of my government in Puglia», a region in Southern Italy, which Vendola has governed since 2005 (confirmed for a second term). «I put myself forward - he assured - of guaranteeing stability within the government». Words that seem aimed at reassuring those who, like the markets, are worried about this left wing presence in any future majority that will lead Italy after Monti's government.

A sign also comes from the Democratic Party which is optimistic about the possibility of Monti and Vendola co-existing. The first is considered an essential part of any dialogue. The second is said to have enough political intelligence to understand that in order to make reforms that benefit Italy and above all to block Berlusconi's return, a broad consensus is needed: meaning a substantial number of votes in the new Italian parliament can only come from Monti's deputies and senators. Furthermore, the power of Vendola's veto will be proportionate to his voting power in Parliament: in effect quite limited.
Additional concerns over the influence that the CGIL might have on the reforming policies of the PD are likely to crop up. This is an aspect that, not surprisingly, has repeatedly been emphasized by Monti.
(Traduzione di James Tierney)