Italy's political crisis appeared over on Monday after a rebel centrist party said it had reached a deal with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to return to government, averting snap elections. A senior member of the Union of Christian Democrats (UDC) said Berlusconi would resign and then form a new government, in what would be a blow to a premier who had been determined to avoid formal dissolution of his four-year-old administration. "The House of Freedoms has reached agreement on the main points," former European Affairs Minister Rocco Buttiglione said, referring to Berlusconi's centre-right ruling coalition.
"We're heading for a second Berlusconi government along the lines indicated by our party."
Berlusconi went to see President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on Monday afternoon. He was expected to tender his resignation and tell the president he can form a new government able to command a parliamentary majority.
The deal avoids the need for a general election a year ahead of schedule that Berlusconi would probably have lost and gives him time to improve the centre-right's electoral prospects, dented by a stagnant economy and the damaging infighting.
But by forcing his resignation it dashes his hopes of becoming the first Italian premier in post-war history to complete a five-year term at the head of a single government.
The government has been on the verge of collapse since the UDC walked out on Friday demanding major policy changes after the coalition suffered heavy losses in regional elections.
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