The Italian government fights for survival

Stefan Ulrich asks how the 1.4 percent party of ex-Justice Minister Mastella was able to garner so much power. "Because it encourages voting rights. That's how Mastella got the post of justice minister – Prime Minister Prodi needed his splinter party to build a majority. It was a fatal attraction: When state prosecutors began investigating Mastella on charges of corruption, the minister called them 'extremists' on a 'manhunt.' ... Actually, there's more at stake for Mastella than a criminal trial. He fears a voting rights reform that would rob small parties of their power. The old voting rights are better for Mastella. And opposition leader Berlusconi prefers them as well; he showed for five years that he is incapable of leading Italy well. But these days the citizens would let Berlusconi win – not out of enthusiasm for his orientation to the right, but out of concern for Prodi's orientation to the left."

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