Silvio Berlusconis party withdrew its support for Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday, raising the risk of a snap election in Italy, but President Giorgio Napolitano said he would work to avoid a crisis and there was no need for alarm.

The centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party walked out of a Senate confidence vote on a package of economic measures and abstained in a separate confidence vote in the lower house following criticism of Berlusconi by a senior minister.

Montis government survived comfortably but the risk it could fall remained as tensions rose between the parties that have backed the technocrat government over the last year.

Head of state Napolitano, who makes the final decision on whether to call an election, said there was no need for alarm on international markets and Italys institutions were strong.

"There are pre-electoral political tensions that even outside Italy can be understood without creating alarm about the institutional strength of the country," Napolitano said.

PDL secretary Angelino Alfano said the party had not wanted to bring the government down on Thursday but would decide over the next few days whether to do so. "If we had wanted to make it fall, we would have already today given a vote of no confidence," he told reporters.

If the government does fall, an election would likely be called only a few weeks earlier than the expected date in early March, but such a development would upset investors nervous about what will follow Monti.

With all parties now clearly in campaign mode, Alfano said that Berlusconi had told him of his intention to run following strong indications on Wednesday that he would return to the frontline as the PDL election candidate.

The PDL move on Thursday followed comments by one of Montis ministers saying Berlusconis return could be bad for Italy.

Napolitano said a turbulent end to the five-year legislature must be avoided so Montis government could complete its program and the prime minister said he would await the presidents judgment on Thursdays political drama. The president will meet Alfano on Friday.

Napolitano has previously said he will not call elections until parliament has approved a package of economic reforms.

The political confusion helped drive up Italian bond yields but the impact was relatively contained. The premium investors demand to hold Italian 10-year BTP bonds rather than lower-risk German Bunds widened to 330 basis points, having fallen below 300 points earlier in the week.

MARKETS WORRIED

International markets are worried about what will happen after Monti steps down. The respected former European Commissioner has restored confidence in Italy since he took over a year ago from the flamboyant and scandal-plagued Berlusconi.

The centre-left Democratic Party (PD), which is the main element with the PDL of a cross party alliance sustaining Monti, indicated it could ask Napolitano to dissolve parliament if the government could not count on the support of Berlusconis party.

The conflict underlined the deep uncertainty in Italian politics before next springs election and weakened bond prices, which have come back under control since reaching critical levels before Montis takeover.

Berlusconis statement on Wednesday suggested that he wanted to exploit public anger over austerity measures to revive the fortunes of the party he founded and bankrolled, which has slumped badly in opinion polls over the last year.

The former premier said the situation was much worse than when he stepped down and Italy was on the edge of an abyss.

In a television interview early on Thursday, Industry Minister Corrado Passera expressed strong reservations about a return by the 76-year-old billionaire, who left office last year as investors despaired of him addressing the countrys economic crisis and Italy seemed headed for a Greek-style crisis.

The stand-off deepened the confusion surrounding the election and threatens to open a severe political crisis in the euro zones third largest economy.

Berlusconi accused Montis government of dragging Italy into an "endless recessive spiral". Passera retorted that most of Italys deep economic problems were the result of a decade of poor management.

Berlusconi, who was in power for most of the past 10 years, faces deep divisions within the PDL, which is split between loyalists opposed to Monti and other factions, including many who want to continue backing the governments reform agenda.

Former Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, a leading PDL moderate who wants Monti to come back as premier after the election, defied party orders to abstain in the lower house vote, together with at least three other deputies.

Analysts say the party could easily fall apart before the election, leaving a void on the centre-right which has already lost substantial ground to the populist 5-Star Movement of comedian Beppe Grillo which is second in opinion polls after the centre-left.

Disillusioned PDL supporters are also believed to be a substantial bloc of the up to 50 percent of voters who say they would abstain in an election or have not made up their minds.

Berlusconis indecision has further undermined his party, whose support is now at less than half the level that won it a landslide election victory in 2008.

相关中文资料

前意大利总理贝卢斯科尼所属党派周四宣布不再支持总理蒙堤，令该国提前举行选举的可能性升高。但总统纳波利塔诺(Giorgio Napolitano)称将努力避免危机，无需惊慌。

在一名资深部长批评贝卢斯科尼之後，贝氏所属的中右翼自由人民党退出参议院对一系列经济措施举行的信任投票，并在下议院举行的另一项信任投票中弃权。

虽然蒙堤政府顺利通过信任投票，但仍面临垮台风险，因过去一年来支持政府的各党派之间关系日益紧张。

纳波利塔诺称国际市场无需恐慌，意大利的制度稳健。他有权最终决定是否举行大选。

"即使在意大利以外的地方，选举之前也会出现政治********，这都是可以理解的，不会造成对该国制度稳定性的担心，"纳波利塔诺说。

自由人民党秘书长阿尔法诺(Angelino Alfano)表示，该党周四并没有想要让政府垮台，但会在未来几天决定是否要这麽做。他向记者表示，"若我们想要让政府垮台，我们今天就会投不信任票。"

若政府真的垮台，选举可能会较原先预期时程的3月初提前数周，但这样的情势发展会让投资人感到不安，忧心後蒙堤政府的情势。

目前各政党都已经进入选战状态，阿尔法诺称贝卢斯科尼已经向他表达参选意愿。

在自由人民党周四采取****前，蒙堤政府的一位部长表示，贝卢斯科尼的回归可能对意大利不利。

纳波利塔诺指出，必须避免让五年的议会任期出现动荡的结局，好让蒙堤政府能够完成其计划，而蒙堤则表示，他将等待总统对於周四政治闹剧的判断。总统将於周五与阿尔法诺会面。

纳波利塔诺先前曾表示，在议会通过经济改革方案之前，他不会宣布改选。

这场政治乱局带动意大利公债收益率走高，但冲击相对有限。意大利10年期公债与德国公债间利差扩大至330个基点，本周稍早一度跌至300个基点以下。

市场忧心忡忡

国际市场忧心于蒙堤下台後将会发生什麽。自打一年前蒙堤从贝卢斯科尼手中接过权杖以来，他重振了市场对意大利的信心。

意大利中间偏左的****党(PD)指出，如果政府不能获得贝卢斯科尼所在党的支持，就可能要求纳波利塔诺解散议会。****党和自由人民党是维持蒙堤政府的跨党派联盟中的主要力量。

上述乱局凸显了明年春季大选前意大利政治的不确定性，而且打压了公债价格。

贝卢斯科尼周三的声明暗示，他想利用公众对撙节举措的怨气来重振其所建立的党派。

这位前意大利总理称，形势比他下台时更加糟糕，意大利濒临深渊。

工业部长帕塞拉(Corrado Passera)周四早些时候在电视专访中表示对贝卢斯科尼的回归持强烈保留态度。

意大利的政治僵局加剧大选的不确定性，而且可能会导致该国陷入严重的政治危机。意大利是欧元区第三大经济体。