Prodi out, Berlusconi to try again

January 25, 2008

He handed in his resignation to the president after just 20 months in office. Prodi's centre-left coalition of 13 parties was shaky from the start. It lurched toward collapse after a small Catholic Party, the Christian Democrats, withdrew its support. It's up to the Italian president now to decide what happens next: an interim government or a snap election. Opinion polls point to a handsome win for the centre right of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. He's already fought four elections as centre-right leader, winning two of them, and a fifth election bid for the premiership would be an Italian record.