Italy's president launching urgent talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Italy's president launches urgent talks on Tuesday, April 23 that could see a Prime Minister designated after two months of post-electoral stalemate that has weighed on a stagnant economy and alarmed Rome's partners in the euro, Reuters reported.

After directing an emotional blast of impatience on Monday at the very parliament which handed him an unprecedented - and heartily unwanted - second term as head of state at the weekend, 87-year-old Giorgio Napolitano has announced a "rapid round of consultations" with political leaders, starting early Tuesday.

Having threatened to resign if the parties continue with what he called their "irresponsibility" after the inconclusive parliamentary election of February 24 and 25, Napolitano seems determined to force the pace, and could even designate a prime minister to form a grand coalition government within the day, according to Reuters.

One leading name is Giuliano Amato, a 75-year-old from the centre-left who has twice before been prime minister but no longer sits in parliament. Whoever is named is likely to forge a multi-party cabinet to take over from the technocrat government of outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti, appointed in late 2011.

In his inaugural address to parliament on Monday, he made clear that he expected the parties to compromise and cooperate:

"I have a duty to be frank. If I find myself once again facing the kind of deafness I ran into in the past, I will not hesitate to draw the consequences," he said.