|
 Letta, a low-key moderate appointed to lead the cross-party
coalition patched together after last year's deadlocked elections,
is fighting for his political future after growing criticism from
Renzi over the slow pace of economic reform. A meeting of the 140-strong leadership committee of the Democratic
Party at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) will decide whether he has the backing of
his party to continue, or will be forced to stand aside less than a
year after taking office. The latest bout of turmoil in Italy, the euro zone's third-largest
economy, has so far had little impact on financial markets, in
contrast with the volatility seen during previous crises, such as
the deadlock after last year's election. However, the continual uncertainty has held back any radical effort
to revive an economy struggling to emerge from its worst slump since
World War Two and cut levels of unemployment not seen since the
1970s.
 If Renzi succeeds in ousting Letta, as most media and political
commentators expect, he would be Italy's third unelected prime
minister in succession after the technocrat Mario Monti and Letta,
named as premier after weeks of fruitless wrangling between rival
parties. Renzi, an ambitious 39-year-old whose main experience of government
has been as mayor of Florence, is not a member of parliament and has
never stood in a national election. Having burst onto the political scene promising renewal and a break
with the Byzantine traditions of Italian politics, he could now gain
power in a backroom maneuver reminiscent of the revolving door
Christian Democrat governments of the past. "This is a very dangerous operation by Renzi both for the country
and for himself," Giovanni Toti, political adviser to former
center-right Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, told RAI state
television. "He was supposed to be the outsider who was going to renew the PD.
Now as soon as he gets close to power, he's behaving exactly like
all the others," he said. LOYAL ALLIANCE Tensions have been brewing ever since Renzi's overwhelming victory
in a party leadership primary in December, but the pressure on Letta
has suddenly intensified this week as powerful lobbies including the
main industry association Confindustria have joined calls for faster
action on reforms.
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On Thursday, Angelino Alfano, head of the New Centre Right party
that supports the ruling coalition, said Letta could count on a
"loyal, correct and fruitful alliance" as long as he retained the
backing of the PD. But he left it open whether he would continue to support the
government if Letta were forced to step down in favor of Renzi, who
has backed a number of policies unacceptable to the center-right,
including support for gay civil unions. "We're not taking anything for granted, and we will consider this
possibility once it is confirmed," he told Canale 5 television. If the center-right withdraws support, Renzi, who is viewed with
deep skepticism by the left of his party, may seek the support of
the small Left Ecology Freedom party. Italian media have also speculated that he may be able to attract
some defectors from the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, but it
remains unclear how stable such support would be in the testing
parliamentary battles needed to pass any wide-ranging reforms. His accord with Berlusconi to overhaul the much-criticized electoral
law, a measure touted by all sides as a necessary step to creating
stable government, has already encountered delays in parliament as
scores of amendments have been tabled.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; editing by Kevin Liffey and Will
Waterman)
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