Italian government's future to be decided in Sep, says MP

ROME - The future of Italy's wobbly government will be decided in September, after the summer break, when Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to present to parliament a strategic 4-point program on which he will put a confidence vote, Italian MP Fabrizio Cicchitto said on Friday.

"With this document we hope to have a solid majority that renews its trust in the current government, but if we fail in securing the vote there are no other alternatives: Berlusconi is ready to resign and call for new elections," said Cicchitto, who is House leader of the premier's ruling People of Freedom party and also a close friend of his.

The prime minister's coalition is no longer solid after the rift with his former ally, House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, who decided to found a new group called the Future and Freedom for Italy, counting some 34 MPs in the 630-seat House and 10 in the 315-seat Senate.

After failing on Wednesday to reach the majority on a confidence vote shielding one of his vice minister from accusations of sleaze, Berlusconi confessed he was ready to face early elections.

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Holding new elections is probably the best solution for Berlusconi, considering all the controversial laws yet to be approved by the parliament, for which he now may lack majority support.

In order to avoid a slow agony, the premier wants to get down to the facts and count how many of his former allies are actually still on his side or drifting away.

The best and most drastic way to do so is through the presentation in parliament of a bill containing the most thorny issues between his People of Freedom party and Fini's new group: taxing reform, justice, federalism and policies for the south.

According to daily newspaper La Stampa, Berlusconi will set up a special committee to draft the document, whose members include Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, Justice Minister Angelino Alfano and Cicchitto himself.

Fini's party has expressed confidence in Berlusconi, saying it is ready to vote along with him unless he presents "unequal" laws.