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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Italy PM to face confidence vote | Italy PM to face confidence vote |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi will face a vote of confidence in parliament following the resignation of an ally from his coalition government. | Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi will face a vote of confidence in parliament following the resignation of an ally from his coalition government. |
| The vote in the Chamber of Deputies will take place on Wednesday, Green Party leader Angelo Bonelli said. | The vote in the Chamber of Deputies will take place on Wednesday, Green Party leader Angelo Bonelli said. |
| Mr Prodi had been due to brief MPs on the crisis, which saw former Justice Minister Clemente Mastella and two fellow MPs withdraw from the coalition. | |
| Mr Mastella quit last week after being implicated in a corruption inquiry. | Mr Mastella quit last week after being implicated in a corruption inquiry. |
| His centrist Udeur party also has three seats in the upper house, the Senate, and its withdrawal has cost Mr Prodi his majority of one. | |
| Mr Mastella has said the party will probably vote against the prime minister in any motion of no confidence. | |
| The BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome says Mr Prodi does not want to rely on the seven unelected life senators, mostly former presidents, who tend to back him. | |
| 'Political situation' | |
| After a meeting of coalition party leaders, Mr Bonelli said Mr Prodi would speak to the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday "about the political situation" before formally asking for a vote of confidence. | |
| Mr Bonelli said the parliamentary debate would begin at 1300 (1400 GMT) and the confidence vote at 1500 (1600 GMT). | |
| The Environment Minister, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, is also due to face a vote of confidence in the Senate on Wednesday for his handling of the rubbish crisis in Naples. | |
| Correspondents say defeat for him would further undermine Mr Prodi's position. | |
| Italy's elected Senate is a more powerful body than upper houses in some other countries. | |
| Under the constitution, any government must "obtain the confidence" of both it and the Chamber of Deputies. |