Trying to cling to power until elections next year, Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi formed a new government that will face the same problems as his last one: a sluggish economy and public discontent with Italy's presence in Iraq.
Berlusconi was sworn in Saturday by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi as head of the nation's 60th government since the end of World War II. His team of ministers differs little from the one he led until quitting Wednesday, prompting the center-left opposition to brand the reshuffle mere "propaganda."
Still, Berlusconi announced the creation of a new ministry -- Development and Territorial Cohesion -- under Gianfranco Micciche, the former deputy minister of economy. Micciche, who is from Sicily, will oversee efforts to develop poorer areas in southern Italy.
"A new phase is starting, and the next Cabinet meeting will indicate this government's program: southern Italy, support for businesses and buying power for families," Berlusconi told ministers, according to the ANSA news agency.
Resigning and forming a new Cabinet is a maneuver that Berlusconi, a billionaire mogul who likes to portray himself as a new-style politician, had originally dismissed as an old trick of Italian politics.
But after the conservative National Alliance -- his major coalition ally -- threatened to withdraw from the government, it appeared to be Berlusconi's last chance to stay in office.
Ministers who are staying include National Alliance chief Gianfranco Fini, who remains foreign minister and deputy premier, as well as Defense Minister Antonio Martino, who oversees Italy's deployment of 3,000 troops to Iraq. Giulio Tremonti, a former economy minister forced out last year by coalition feuding, returns as a deputy premier.
The Cabinet will face a parliamentary confidence vote next week. Berlusconi is expected to win it because his center-right coalition still has a majority in parliament.
Berlusconi received the mandate to form a new government during a meeting Friday with Ciampi, two days after quitting amid a power struggle with his coalition allies. A small party -- the Union of Christian Democrats -- pulled its ministers out of the Cabinet last week, putting pressure on Berlusconi to revamp his leadership in an attempt to recover lost popularity.
With Italians concerned about the economy and largely opposed to Italy's involvement in Iraq, polls have suggested that the center-left bloc would win if elections were held now.
The new Cabinet is Italy's 60th government since the republic's founding in 1946. Italian media are calling it "Berlusconi bis" -- Berlusconi part 2. The center-left opposition says Berlusconi's changes are merely cosmetic.
"It's just a propaganda operation," said Sergio D'Antoni, a left-wing opposition leader. "This is the result of a fake government crisis and an equally fake solution."
Romano Prodi, the main opposition politician, criticized the choice of Tremonti, saying "he was the one mainly responsible for the negative tendency of the Italian economy."
The political crisis erupted after Berlusconi's coalition was trounced in regional elections this month, losing 12 out the 14 regions at stake.
Voters have punished the premier mainly because of Italy's sluggish economy, which grew by 1.2 percent last year compared with an average 2 percent in the 12-nation euro zone.
Berlusconi also faces strong popular opposition to his decision to send 3,000 troops to Iraq after the US-led invasion.
Pressure to pull out the troops mounted after the March 4 killing in Baghdad of an Italian intelligence agent, Nicola Calipari, who was escorting a released hostage. The agent was shot by US troops who mistakenly fired on his vehicle.
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