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Prodi Trusted by Fewer Italians
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most adults in Italy mistrust their prime minister's capability to lead the government, according to a poll by IPR Marketing published in La Repubblica. 55 per cent of respondents have no confidence in Romano Prodi, up three points since June.
Italian voters renewed the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in April 2006. The centre-left Union (Unione), led by Prodi, secured 348 seats in the lower house and 158 seats in the upper house. The victory put an end to the government of the centre-right House of Freedom (Casa), headed by Silvio Berlusconi.
In May 2006, Prodi was formally appointed as prime minister. The Union leader had previously served as head of government from May 1996 to October 1998.
Earlier this month, an auction to sell state-owned airline Alitalia ended with no buyer after seven months of bidding. Critics blamed the failure to privatize Alitalia partly to conditions such as requiring a buyer to maintain the carrier's "Italianness" and allegedly allowing the government to do a post-acquisition review of the deal. Prodi discussed the situation, saying, "This certainly shows the depth of the crisis at the company; we can't ignore it and now we have to suffer the consequences."
Polling Data
Do you have confidence in Italian prime minister Romano Prodi?
Jul. 2007 | Jun. 2007 | |
Yes | 42% | 44% |
No | 55% | 52% |
Source: IPR Marketing / La Repubblica
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Italian adults, conducted from Jul. 13 to Jul. 16, 2007. No margin of error was provided.