ROME, April 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Thursday ruled out a government crisis in the wake of athumping defeat in local elections which has sparked a new bout ofinfighting among his allies.
"No" Berlusconi answered when reporters asked him if there was a risk of a crisis in his four-year government.
Speaking at a news conference just minutes earlier, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini also ruled out the idea.
But he admitted that election results in the April 3-4 vote for13 regional governments had been rather "alarming" for the center-right coalition which managed to win only two regions.
Berlusconi denied on Wednesday that he was under siege from allies pushing conflicting agendas.
"Nothing will be changed. We must work together to carry on and
finish our program," said the center-right leader after a round ofconsultations with his allies.
He rejected early elections or a cabinet reshuffle and stressedthat his leadership was not in question.
Describing the election outcome as a "warning sign", particularly for his party, Berlusconi said that "we must communicate more to people about what we have done, that's the most important thing to do. We need more connection with people ata grass roots level."
Berlusconi's four-way governing coalition was thrashed by the opposition in local elections on Sunday and Monday.
Of 13 regional governments up for grabs across the 20-region country, the coalition only held on to two in the economically solid north - Veneto and Lombardy.
The rest all fell to the center-left, including three considered center-right strongholds: Piedmont in the north, Lazio in the center and Puglia in the south.
Berlusconi's own party Forza Italia (Go Italy) gave its worst ever showing, taking just 18.4 percent of the vote compared to the29 percent it garnered in the 2001 general election.
Overall, the opposition gained 52.9 percent of the vote compared to the governing coalition's 45.1 percent. Enditem
| 
Breaking
News 