THE Italian Prime Minister designate, Mr Antonio Maccanico, yesterday held across-the-board talks with Italy's left, centre and right parties as he started the difficult task of stitching together an all-party government intended to oversee the enactment of institutional and electoral reforms.
Mr Maccanico was appointed on Thursday by President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro at the end of a month-long crisis following the December 30th resignation of the year-old "technical" government headed by former banker, Mr Lamberto Dini.
The surprise and compromise choice of Mr Maccanico essentially came about because a majority of political parties, on the left and the right, preferred to attempt some form of national government intended to enact radical reforms rather than face the only other viable alternative -namely, an immediate election.
During nine years as secretary-general at the president's office, first under Mr Sandro Pertini and then under Mr Francesco Cossiga, Mr Maccanico earned himself the nickname of "Richelieu" in deference to his consummate diplomatic skills.
Those skills will now be severely tested as he attempts to bring together an unlikely set of bedfellows in Mr Silvio Berlusconi's Forza italia and the ex-Fascist National Alliance on the right, the ex-Christian Democrat Popular Party in the centre and the ex-communist Democratic Left (PDS) on the left.
Mr Maccanico's first problem will concern acceptance of his government team. If as current speculation suggests, he intends to appoint former bankers and prime ministers, Mr Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Mr Lamberto Dini, to the finance and foreign ministries, he could face problems from the right, which is hostile to both men if he maintains Italy's current economic policies of tight budgetary control in order to meet the convergency criteria for the EU's single currency, he will then find himself at loggerheads with the PDS.
Finally, when and if he comes to discussing the alleged major issue of the day, constitutional reform, he may find himself up against a stone wall of differing opinions.
Inevitably, the parties on the right will push for ever greater powers and autonomy to be afforded the president, due to be directly elected and not appointed by the parties as under the current Italian system. Equally inevitable, the centre-left parties will push for a series of constitutional and parliamentary counter-balances to such a powerful presidential figure. Mr Maccanico seems sure to be busy.