It's no surprise that Prodi has quit as Italian PM. Prodi's government was Italy's 61st since 1945.
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Italian PM Prodi quits due to revolt over troops in Afghanistan
22nd February 2007
Senate revolt: Prime minister Prodi
The war on terror claimed its first major political casualty yesterday as the Italian government collapsed after losing a vote on keeping troops in Afghanistan.
Italian prime minister Romano Prodi sensationally handed in his resignation after a humiliating foreign policy defeat.
The 67-year-old gave in his notice just hours after he lost the vote, which focused on Italy's peacekeeping role in Afghanistan and the 1,800 troops the country has stationed there. Mr Prodi's government was Italy's 61st since 1945.
His patchwork centre-left alliance has been calling for the deployment to be recalled but Mr Prodi has been stubbornly refusing to do so.
His hand was also forced by his foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, who said before the vote that the government should resign it if lost the vote as a 'constitutional principle'.
The motion had asked the senate to approve the government's foreign policy.
It received 158 votes in favour, just short of the majority of 160 needed for approval, while 136 members of the conservative opposition voted against the motion.
Some 24 senators decided to abstain from the vote.
Italian TV stations interrupted early evening schedules to cover the dramatic events as Mr Prodi handed in his resignation to Italian president Giorgio Napolitano at the Quirinale Palace.
But even before he had arrived it was readily accepted that he would resign after cabinet minister Antonio Di Pietro said he was on his way there to quit.
Mr Prodi had been in power for just 281 days after snatching a wafer-thin majority over controversial centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi last April.
As details of his defeat in the two votes in the Senate were announced, opposition politicians jeered and chanted, 'quit, quit, quit'.
Mr Berlusconi issued a statement saying: "Prodi must resign immediately for reasons of political, constitutional and ethical consistency.
"The government has been clamorously defeated in parliament - Prodi and D'Alema asked parliament for its support for their foreign policy ideas and decisions and failed to obtain it."
When Mr Prodi came to power, many political commentators questioned just how long he could hold his patchwork alliance of Roman Catholics, Communists, Greens and Pacifists together - with many predicting that it would fall by Christmas.
And in the end his coalition partners rebelled against him because of his failure to commit to troop withdrawal and because he approved the expansion of a US base at Vicenza, near Venice.
Last weekend more than 70,000 people demonstrated against the base and many said at the time that it marked the beginning of the end for Mr Prodi.
His resignation was immediately accepted by President Napolitano, who said that he would consult ministers this morning about the way forward.
Options open to him include asking Mr Prodi to form a new government - which would again mean more infighting - calling for a vote of confidence, or dissolving parliament and holding a new general election.
However, even cabinet minister Mr Di Pietro seemed to hint that a general election was the most likely solution.
He said: "Without a quality majority it's better to go back to the ballot box rather than have a majority based on a temporary parliament which would not be in the best interests of the people."
Mr Prodi is the first European prime minister to have lost office over deploying troops abroad in the war on terror.
But in 2004, Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar was defeated in a general election three days after the Madrid train bombings which killed 191.
He had continued to blame Basque separatists Eta even after evidence of an Islamic link emerged.
Mr Prodi was said yesterday by aides to be ready to stay on 'if and only if' he got the full support of his majority.
His spokesman, Silvio Sircana, said: "Prodi has acknowledged this is a serious crisis and he doesn't have a majority in the Senate.
"He is ready to carry on as prime minister if, and only if, he is guaranteed the full support of all the parties in the majority from now on."
One opposition leader, Pier Ferdinando Casini, said it would be tough for Mr Prodi to put together a new government.
"If he wants to go ahead, good luck," Mr Casini said. "The country is paying the price."
READERS' COMMENTS
This is another reason why the EU is a waste of time. Most of them are afraid of committing troops to war zones.
- Pete, Andover, England
dailymail.co.uk
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Italian PM Prodi quits due to revolt over troops in Afghanistan
22nd February 2007
Senate revolt: Prime minister Prodi
The war on terror claimed its first major political casualty yesterday as the Italian government collapsed after losing a vote on keeping troops in Afghanistan.
Italian prime minister Romano Prodi sensationally handed in his resignation after a humiliating foreign policy defeat.
The 67-year-old gave in his notice just hours after he lost the vote, which focused on Italy's peacekeeping role in Afghanistan and the 1,800 troops the country has stationed there. Mr Prodi's government was Italy's 61st since 1945.
His patchwork centre-left alliance has been calling for the deployment to be recalled but Mr Prodi has been stubbornly refusing to do so.
His hand was also forced by his foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, who said before the vote that the government should resign it if lost the vote as a 'constitutional principle'.
The motion had asked the senate to approve the government's foreign policy.
It received 158 votes in favour, just short of the majority of 160 needed for approval, while 136 members of the conservative opposition voted against the motion.
Some 24 senators decided to abstain from the vote.
Italian TV stations interrupted early evening schedules to cover the dramatic events as Mr Prodi handed in his resignation to Italian president Giorgio Napolitano at the Quirinale Palace.
But even before he had arrived it was readily accepted that he would resign after cabinet minister Antonio Di Pietro said he was on his way there to quit.
Mr Prodi had been in power for just 281 days after snatching a wafer-thin majority over controversial centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi last April.
As details of his defeat in the two votes in the Senate were announced, opposition politicians jeered and chanted, 'quit, quit, quit'.
Mr Berlusconi issued a statement saying: "Prodi must resign immediately for reasons of political, constitutional and ethical consistency.
"The government has been clamorously defeated in parliament - Prodi and D'Alema asked parliament for its support for their foreign policy ideas and decisions and failed to obtain it."
When Mr Prodi came to power, many political commentators questioned just how long he could hold his patchwork alliance of Roman Catholics, Communists, Greens and Pacifists together - with many predicting that it would fall by Christmas.
And in the end his coalition partners rebelled against him because of his failure to commit to troop withdrawal and because he approved the expansion of a US base at Vicenza, near Venice.
Last weekend more than 70,000 people demonstrated against the base and many said at the time that it marked the beginning of the end for Mr Prodi.
His resignation was immediately accepted by President Napolitano, who said that he would consult ministers this morning about the way forward.
Options open to him include asking Mr Prodi to form a new government - which would again mean more infighting - calling for a vote of confidence, or dissolving parliament and holding a new general election.
However, even cabinet minister Mr Di Pietro seemed to hint that a general election was the most likely solution.
He said: "Without a quality majority it's better to go back to the ballot box rather than have a majority based on a temporary parliament which would not be in the best interests of the people."
Mr Prodi is the first European prime minister to have lost office over deploying troops abroad in the war on terror.
But in 2004, Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar was defeated in a general election three days after the Madrid train bombings which killed 191.
He had continued to blame Basque separatists Eta even after evidence of an Islamic link emerged.
Mr Prodi was said yesterday by aides to be ready to stay on 'if and only if' he got the full support of his majority.
His spokesman, Silvio Sircana, said: "Prodi has acknowledged this is a serious crisis and he doesn't have a majority in the Senate.
"He is ready to carry on as prime minister if, and only if, he is guaranteed the full support of all the parties in the majority from now on."
One opposition leader, Pier Ferdinando Casini, said it would be tough for Mr Prodi to put together a new government.
"If he wants to go ahead, good luck," Mr Casini said. "The country is paying the price."
READERS' COMMENTS
This is another reason why the EU is a waste of time. Most of them are afraid of committing troops to war zones.
- Pete, Andover, England
dailymail.co.uk
