2007-05-29 15:03:46 -
ROME (AP) - Premier Romano Prodi said Tuesday that his center-left coalition's modest showing in local elections would not affect his government's stability.
The local balloting of the past two days was largely seen as a test of Prodi's year-old government, which has declined in popularity according to opinion polls, amid coalition bickering.
«It was a
largely expected result,» Prodi said Tuesday. He added that the ruling coalition paid for tough economic measures the government put in place to revive the country's economy and contain its budget deficit.
In the run-up to the vote, the premier did not campaign and he played down any national significance. Opposition leader and former conservative premier Silvio Berlusconi had said he would call for Prodi's resignation if the center-left suffered a heavy defeat.
The conservatives made gains, especially in the north, but failed to win the landslide they had hoped for. They took five cities in the north, but the center-left gained control of the Sicilian city of Agrigento and of two other smaller cities, while also pushing another city held by the conservatives, Parma, to a runoff.
In most other races, the center-left largely contained losses; each coalition held its own, or in some races runoffs would be necessary, the returns indicated.
Prodi shrugged off any suggestions that he should step down, pointing out that Berlusconi never resigned when he suffered local electoral defeats during his-five-year tenure.
Prodi and other coalition members acknowledged, however, that the results showed a measure of dissatisfaction in the country, especially in the affluent north.
«It's a wake-up call,» said Piero Fassino, leader of the largest coalition party.
«Clearly I'm not satisfied with the results in the north,» said Prodi. «But I also know that the fruits of the new policies we have begun implementing will come.»
Berlusconi insisted the results showed Prodi did not have the support of a majority of citizens. «It is a clear sign of no-confidence to the government,» he was quoted as saying by the Apcom news agency.
