Berlusconi announces new political party

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has announced the establishment of a new political party, the Italian People's Party for Freedom, and would dissolve the Forza Italia, group he founded in the early 1990s.

According Berlusconi, Forza Italia has collected more than seven million signatures to back his call for early parliamentary elections (the next regular poll is scheduled for 2011).

Despite his determined enthusiasm, Mr. Berlusconi's announcement seemed to come at a low point for him politically, and it thus seemed uncertain how popular his new movement might be.

To start, his political allies, crucial to keeping him in power during his five years as prime minister, have defected and refused to support his new party. On Sunday, the leader of the right-wing National Alliance, Gianfranco Fini, warned that Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition would collapse unless he changed strategy. "The time has come when either the centre-right shows it can unite, find a mission, offer the country a programme, or else we accept that the coalition no longer exists and everyone goes their own way," he said. Criticism of Mr Berlusconi's performance was echoed by fellow coalition partners Umberto Bossi, head of the Northern League party, and Pier Ferdinando Casini, head of the Christian Democrats, reports said.

Center-left leaders have largely dismissed it as an admission of weakness from Mr. Berlusconi at a difficult time. Mr. Prodi said he was unperturbed. “Despite Berlusconi's overwhelming media campaign, my government is going forward,” he said Monday.

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